Interviews - my/maSCENA

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. Photo: Cody Pickens

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser: Living a Gesamtkunstwerk Life

By Kaitlyn Chan on 31 January 2025 Classical Music, Interviews, Orchestral

Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser’s name has become synonymous with diversity of programming. In 2019, he was featured in the CBC documentary Disruptor Conductor in which he brings orchestral music to young people, the LGBTQ+ community, people on the autism spectrum and prison populations. And in recent years, he has conducted numerous shows that aim to educate, connect, and celebrate the unique communities in every city where he works. Bartholomew-Poyser is currently the Barrett principal education conductor and community ambassador at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). In this role, he often conducts relaxed performances for the neurodiverse and disability communities. He encourages…

Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra: Innovating the Community Orchestra

By Eva Stone-Barney on 31 January 2025 Classical Music, Education, Interviews, Orchestral

When the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1980, its members could hardly have imagined what the organization would evolve into 45 years later. Under the leadership of Ronald Royer, who took over as music director in 2009, the SPO has embraced change and challenge alike, transforming itself into a truly modern organization. Royer’s attachment to the orchestra is personal: prior to his appointment as music director, he was the group’s composer-in-residence. His wife, clarinetist Kaye Royer, has played with the SPO for more than 30 years. It therefore comes as no surprise that Ronald Royer’s decision to assume a…

Jordan de Souza: A Canadian in Europe

By Catherine Kustanczy on 31 January 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Interviews, Orchestral

Jordan de Souza has stood on the podium of some of the world’s most famous stages, but has no doubts about the classical music scene in his home and native land. “There’s so much great music-making happening in Canada,” says the busy conductor. “I think that’s clear from one end of the country to the other.” Much of de Souza’s life has been based in and around the European classical world for the better part of two decades. Yet, appreciation for his Canadian training has stayed with him. “I think we musicians are built, in a way, on all the…

Clemens Schuldt. Courtesy of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec.

Clemens Schuldt: A Breath of Fresh Air in Quebec City

By Justin Bernard on 31 January 2025 Interviews, Orchestral, Quebec City

Since Clemens Schuldt joined Orchestre symphonique de Québec (OSQ) as music director in 2023, its spirit has changed. A certain pride has settled on the musicians, the organization, even the audiences of the provincial capital. Several factors underlie this, but the personality of the German conductor and his local commitment have certainly contributed. La Scena Musicale met him in Montreal last fall, the day after conducting the closing concert of the International Bach Festival. In a country like Germany, a young conductor is bound to be influenced by the musical geniuses of the past. Schuldt’s father is from Hamburg, the…

Julian Armour & Guylaine Lemaire: Finding Balance

By Kaitlyn Chan on 31 January 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Interviews, Multimedia, Orchestral, Ottawa, Strings

This February, renowned musicians and artistic leaders Julian Armour and Guylaine Lemaire celebrate 20 years of marriage. The Ottawa-based couple have contributed significantly to the Canadian music scene for decades now as both performers and arts administrators. Amidst all this busyness, Armour and Lemaire are also the proud parents of four boys. Armour and Lemaire wear several hats in their professional lives. Armour is the artistic and executive director of Music and Beyond, artistic director of the Chamber Players of Canada, principal cellist of the chamber orchestra Thirteen Strings, and teaches at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Retired…

Montreal New Musics Festival: A fascinating Tower of Babel

By Justin Bernard on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Contemporary, Interviews

The theme of this 12th edition of the Montreal International New Musics Festival is “Music and Images.” Its program of 18 concerts will reopen a debate which has occupied the minds of composers even before the invention of cinema and which, in an increasingly digitized age, is becoming more and more relevant. Today, there seems to be no limit to the potential for interaction between sound and image. This ranges from cinema and video animation, to digital music, as well as all that music itself contributes to visual mediums. We met with SMCQ Artistic Director Simon Bertrand to discuss this…

Mathieu Lussier: Arion Baroque Orchestra: The French Connection

By Viktor Lazarov on 11 November 2024 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Interviews, Montreal

The Life of an Orchestra: From Embryo to Adulthood Comprising some 20 musicians playing on 18th-century instruments, more than 30 critically acclaimed recordings, adorned with numerous awards and international tours, the Arion Baroque Orchestra is a major figure in Quebec’s Early Music scene. Artistic director since 2019, bassoonist Mathieu Lussier recounts the evolution of the ensemble founded in 1981. “Arion was born at a time when many Quebec musicians were going to study Early Music in The Hague, Netherlands, to acquire experience and knowledge not existent in Quebec. Returning with precious new expertise, they founded their own ensembles to promote…

Dorothéa Ventura. Photo: Tam Photography

Dorothéa Ventura : At the Crossroads

By Justin Bernard on 8 November 2024 Baroque and Early, Chamber Music, Interviews, Piano, Vocal

Dorothéa Ventura knows how to do almost everything: dance, act, sing, conduct. The versatility of this artist is such that today she is employed as a harpsichordist, soprano, dancer and actress—and sometimes does double or triple duty! Her preferred repertoire, however, remains Baroque music. Meet the woman who has taken over the reins of Les Idées heureuses, succeeding the ensemble’s founder, Geneviève Soly, as artistic director. Snowy wedding, happy marriage Dorothéa Ventura remembers the first concert of Year 1—38 years ago, in the middle of a snowstorm. “At the time, I was Geneviève Soly’s harpsichord student. She introduced me to…

Geneviève Soly. Photo: Robert Etcheverry.

Geneviève Soly: Looking back at an outstanding musical career

By Viktor Lazarov on 8 November 2024 Baroque and Early, Interviews, Piano

Surrounded by her books, her harpsichord, and furniture dating back to New France, the founder of Les Idées heureuses and specialist of the works of Christoph Graupner, Geneviève Soly, reviews her musical career. People of the soil, music in their hearts “I come from a farming family,” she says. “My ancestors were profoundly musical people and like many country families in Quebec, everyone sang.” Growing up with her twin sister Isolde and brother Éric, her family wasn’t typical of the 1950s and ’60s. Their father, Bernard Lagacé, taught the organ at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (CMM) and their…

Photo: Philippe Manning

In Conversation: Jonathan Mak, First Prize Winner of the International Sorel-Tracy Piano Competition

By Fiona Wu on 28 October 2024 Classical Music, Interviews, Music Competition, Piano

Pianist Jonathan Mak is making waves as a promising new talent with a growing list of triumphs at international competitions. Recently, he captured first prize at the inaugural International Sorel-Tracy Piano Competition as well as the special prize for Best Interpretation of the Imposed Piece by Ana Sokolović. Reflecting on his musical journey, the Toronto native shared that he initially studied both piano and violin. However, in high school, his teacher encouraged him to take up the viola. Faced with the choice of sitting in the back of the second violins or at the front as a violist, he opted…

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