The musicians
I Musici de Montréal
The musicians
I Musici de Montréal
Artistic director and conductor
The musicians
Solo violin
Cellos
Double bass
Conductor
Jean-François Rivest
Québec conductor Jean-François Rivest is renowned for his energy, his extremely precise technique, his style, which is passionate, moving and deeply involved, and his great communication skills. His discography serves as proof to the ease with which he masters a large variety of musical genres ranging from the baroque era up to today.
Solo violin
Julie Triquet
Julie Triquet began her violin studies at the tender age of three under Claude Létourneau. She went on to study at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and has since received three annual professional development grants from the Canada Council for the Arts to study under David Cerone and Aaron Rosand at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, Julie Triquet received the coveted Sylva-Gelber Music Foundation Award presented by the Canada Council for the Arts. In 1982, Julie won first prize at the OSM Standard Life Competition. This award paved the way for subsequent appearances with the best orchestras in Quebec, with which Julie distinguished herself as a soloist. Further recognition of her exceptional talent and passion for chamber music came in 1988, when Julie was named first violin with the Arthur-Leblanc Quartet, then in residence at the Université de Moncton, New Brunswick. From 1993 to 1998, Julie served as co-solo violin with Les Violons du Roy of Québec City. In September 2012, she was appointed solo violin with the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal. Julie Triquet plays a Giuseppe Odoardi 1786 violin generously loaded by Mr. David B. Sela.
Violin
Denis Béliveau
Violinist Denis Béliveau has been with the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal since 1991. He holds both a bachelor’s degree (Université de Montréal, violin performance, 1981) and a master’s degree in music (Université de Montréal, 1985), and his musical training also includes a year of continuing professional development at the Toronto Conservatory (1984). Before joining I Musici, Denis Béliveau was a permanent member of the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal (1980 to 1991) as well as assistant concertmaster with the Orchestre de la Montérégie (1986 to 1991). Denis Béliveau has studied under such renowned violin teachers as Jean Cousineau (1967 to 1977), Vladimir Landsman (1978 to 1985), Lorand Fenyves (1983 to 1984) and Mauricio Fuks (1985 to 1986).
Violin
Amélie Benoît-Bastien
Amélie Benoit Bastien holds a PhD in Interpretation from the Université de Montréal under the direction of Mr. Claude Richard. Her musical development led her to play for renowned violinists such as Pinchas Zukerman, David Cerone, Paul Kantor, Pierre Amoyal, Mark Fewer and Andrew Dawes. Winner of a prestigious scholarship from the Faculty of Graduate Studies of Université Montréal from 2005 to 2008, she won several awards and scholarships, including those of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, the Festival de musique du Royaume, the CBC Young Artists competition and the Canadian Music Competition. A very versatile musician, she was called upon to perform several different roles, both as guest violin at the Gatineau Symphony Orchestra during the 2016-2016 season-2017, as a chamber musician in the Allegra concert series since 2015 and as a studio musician where she participated in multiple recordings. In 2016-2017, she participated in Céline Dion’s Quebec and European tour. An accomplished violinist, she is also dedicated to teaching the violin, which she considers an invaluable source of discoveries and challenges. Always very enthusiastic to share her passion and strong of several good years of teaching in the network of the Conservatoires de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec, she currently holds a professorship at Lionel Groulx College.
Violin
Hubert Brizard
Graduating from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, where he studied with Johanne Arel and Helmut Lipsky, Hubert Brizard began his chamber music career with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (ECM+). Regular contributor to the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec, he actively participates in the development and creation of new music. In 2022, he joined the Ensemble Paramirabo, a contemporary music sextet working in the creation and dissemination of new works. In addition to his activities as a chamber musician, Hubert performs with various ensembles throughout the province, such as the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra, the Estuary Symphony Orchestra, and the FILMharmonique Orchestra, with which he participates in many concerts, including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Supernumerary with I Musici for several years, he has been a regular member of the orchestra since June 2022.
Violin
Annie Guénette
Annie Guénette has been active in the Canadian and international music scene, having performed as both a chamber musician and as an orchestral player in notable collaborations with the Violons du Roy, the Molinari quartet, the National Arts Centre, Montreal Symphony Orchestra; the Aurora Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia and Royal Philharmonic in London; the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Ensemble in Edinburgh. She is a recent addition to the I Musici ensemble, and she has been a member of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra since 2004, which led her to Carnegie Hall and Concertgebouw with Maxim Vengerov.
Ms. Guénette is a past winner of several bursaries, including the Alcan and Amis de l’art; in the 2008 Prix d’Europe competition she distinguished herself by winning the “special prize”, as well as the “prize for best interpretation of a Canadian work”. She has studied at the Universties of Montreal, Michigan and McGill, with jean-François Rivest, Yehonatan Berick and Denise Lupien. Annie Guénette plays a Joseph Gagliano 1768 violin generously loaned by Canimex.
Violin
Dominic Guilbault
Mr. Guilbault began his studies at the University of Montreal where he obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as well as a Graduate Diploma under the tutelage of Mr. Claude Richard. He continued his studies in Austria in the postgraduate program at the Universität fur Musik und darstellende Kunst Wienwith Prof. Christian Altenburger. He has performed in masterclasses for many distinguished musicians in Canada and Europe such as Gérard Poulet, Taras Gabora, Laurence Kayaleh, Régis Pasquier, Erich Höbarth and Ivry Gitlis.
Mr. Guilbault is a laureate of many competitions in Québec and Canada: first price at Festival de Musique du Royaume in 2006, Guy Soucis award at Prix d’Europe 2009. He also won the Etoile Galaxie award as a member of the Trio Mont-Royal in 2007. He has been a recipient of the Scholarship of the Fondation de soutient aux arts de Laval seven times in a row and has received funding from the Conseil des Arts et des lettres du Québec.
As soloist he has been performed with L’Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal and with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He was also a semi-finalist in the Vibrate competition in Paris in 2009.
Mr. Guilbault has worked with the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow. He is now based in Montréal and is a full time member of the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal.
Violin
Madeleine Messier
Madeleine Messier has been a member of the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal since 1987.
Violin
Christian Prévost
Violinist Christian Prévost is a graduate of the Institute of Chamber Music run by the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Milwaukee. A member of I Musici de Montréal since 1985, he studied chiefly with Steven Staryk, David Zafer, Leonard Sorkin and Vladimir Landsman. A musician recognized for his rich and vibrant sonority, he has dedicated himself to a wide variety of artistic projects and collaborations both in studio and on stage. As well as record solo violin soundtracks for a number of Quebec-made films such as Un homme et son péché, Sans elle and Père et fils, he has been invited to perform as concertmaster with the symphony orchestras of Laval, Trois-Rivières and Longueuil, as well as with the Montreal Chamber Orchestra and the Gabriel Thibaudeau ensemble. He also forms a duo with his wife, pianist and singer-songwriter Lucie Dubé.
Viola
Suzanne Careau
Native to Quebec city, Suzanne Careau is a graduate of the Conservatoires de Musique du Québec in Quebec and Montreal in viola and chamber music, under the tutelage of violist Robert Verebes and cellist Yuli Turovsky. In 1986, after a short period of teaching at the Conservatoires de Musique du Québec in Rimouski and Trois-Rivières, she joins the Orchestre I Musici de Montréal under its founding conductor Yuli Turovsky. In the same year, after auditioning, she becomes a member of the Orchestre Métropolitain. She holds a position in the section, before moving on to become assistant principal viola. Ms. Careau leaves the OM in 1995 to devote herself entirely to I Musici. With the Montreal-based ensemble, she gives over 100 concerts a year worldwide and participates in numerous recordings with Chandos Records and other prestigious labels. In addition to her position as a violist, she has been chief of staff and artistic operations director for several years.
Viola
Thierry Lavoie-Ladouceur
Graduating with distinction at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal in 2020, Thierry Lavoie-Ladouceur developed as an violist with many orchestras, including the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Orchestre du Saguenay and the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke. He has participated in several festivals as a chamber musician, including the Schubert deLachine Festival, the Domaine Forget summer camps and the National Youth Orchestra, and performed as soloist with orchestra as the winner of the Montreal Conservatoire demusique concerto competition in 2019. Also a member of Jeunes Virtuoses, a chamber orchestra reformed by Mr. Denis Brott in the fall of 2021, it is only natural that he will continue his tour near I Musici de Montréal, to which he joined in June 2022. His pleasure in improvising and composing led him to collaborate regularly with popular artists, whether on the show La Voix, or with Jonathan Roy or 2Frères. A committed artist, he is a volunteer musician with the Centre d’Action Bénévole of Bordeaux-Cartierville and has given several performances during his career in hospitals, schools and community settings to democratise access to classical music.
Viola
Elvira Misbakhova
Cello
Alain Aubut
One of the founding members of I Musici de Montréal, Alain Aubut received his degree from the Faculté de musique of the Université de Montréal where he studied under Yuli Turovsky. With this ensemble, Alain Aubut has performed in the four corners of the world and has recorded more than 40 CDs for the Chandos Record label where, on one of the very first CDs featuring Boccherini and Vivaldi, he was featured as a soloist. His solo work has been featured on many I Musici CDs since that time.
Cello
Tim Halliday
Tim Halliday fell in love with the cello at the tender age of 4. At the age of 14 he secured a position with the London Orchestra (Canada). After completing his studies under Marcel St-Cyr and Antonio Lysy at McGill University, he joined the Orchestre de chambre I Musici in 1995. He is the busy father of two wonderful children.
Double bass
Yannick Chênevert
Yannick Chênevert earned a master’s degree with great distinction from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal in 1999, studying with René Gosselin. His versatility puts him at ease in various musical genres, including Classical, Baroque, contemporary, pop, and jazz. Chênevert performs with all of the major ensembles and orchestras in the Montreal region, and he is particularly active in the recording studio. He has been a member of the Nouvel ensemble moderne since 2000, and he regularly appears with the Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Les Violons du Roy. He has been a member of I Musici since April 2012.
