Press release
For immediate distribution
Coup de Coeur Evening with Marie-Nicole Lemieux
Montreal, November 18, 2015 – The Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation (JMCF) held its first Coup de Cœur Evening charity event on Tuesday, November 17, at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
On this occasion, celebrated Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux gave an exceptional concert with handpicked guest artists that included pianist François Zeitouni, cellist Benoît Loiselle, jazz pianist Lorraine Desmarais and collaborative pianist Marie-Ève Scarfone. In recognition of this acclaimed artist’s remarkable international career, the JMCF presented her with its brand-new Tribute Prize.
The evening was also an opportunity to pay a heartfelt tribute to outgoing JMCF President André Bourbeau for his involvement of over 20 years in support of JMC activities. In honour of the unwavering commitment of this exceptional individual, completely dedicated to the JMC mission and a pillar of Montreal’s cultural community, the new André Bourbeau Mentorship Prize was created.
Presented to young soprano France Bellemare, this award recognizes the talent of a young musician associated with Jeunesses Musicales Canada’s Emerging Artists Concerts and pairs the recipient with an established artist for an entire year. France Bellemare will thus have the opportunity to work closely with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, who will act as her musical mentor. This artistic pairing is a natural extension of the missions of Jeunesses Musicales Canada and of the JMC Foundation, two organizations that work together to develop classical music and support emerging Canadian artists as they launch their careers.
About Marie-Nicole Lemieux
Marie-Nicole Lemieux is currently one of the world’s foremost singing stars. Since winning the Joseph Rouleau Prize at the Jeunesses Musicales National Competition in 2000, she has continued to collect honours and awards here in Canada as well as in France and Belgium. Her spectacular vocal ability was revealed in 2000 when she won the Queen Fabiola Prize and the Special Lied Prize at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Belgium. This propelled her on an international career that took her to some of the world’s most prestigious stages and led to a great number of recordings. Marie-Nicole Lemieux is a Knight of the Ordre National du Québec, the Ordre de la Pléiade and the Ordre de la Francophonie. She is also Doctor Honoris Causa of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and a graduate of the Conservatoires de musique of Chicoutimi and Montreal.
About France Bellemare
3rd Prize Winner of the Montreal International Music Competition in June 2015, France is also a grant recipient of the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation (2013-2015). She appeared as Mimì (La bohème) on the 2013 Jeunesses Musicales Canada opera tour. Since 2013, France sang Rose (Lakmé), Anna (Nabucco), Madeleine (Silent Night) at the Opéra de Montréal and Gertrud (Hänsel und Gretel) with the Atelier lyrique. In the 2014-2015 season, she appeared as the Woman (La voix humaine) with the McGill Chamber Orchestra. In 2015-2016, she will be sing in Beethoven’s 9th symphony (Drummondville Symphony Orchestra), return to Oéera de Montréal as Die Vertraute (Elektra), and to the McGill Chamber Orchestra as a soloist in the Trilogie de la seduction.
About the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation
The Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation (JMCF) is pleased to celebrate over 30 years in the service of classical music and new talent. The Foundation’s members and team are joining efforts to support Jeunesses Musicales Canada (JMC) in its mission to present classical music—especially to youth—and to help develop the careers of young artists both nationally and internationally.
About the Jeunesses Musicales Canada
A non-profit organization, Jeunesses Musicales Canada (JMC) has a dual mission: to promote the performance of classical music, especially for young audiences, and to help young professional instrumentalists, singers and composers to develop their careers at the national and international levels. Thanks to a network of over 300 volunteers JMC became one of the first organizations to present professional calibre concerts in outlying regions far from major urban centres. Since its inception, JMC has presented tens of thousands of concerts to young audiences, families, and the general public from coast to coast across Canada. Now, a typical JMC season includes over 800 concerts and upwards of 650 workshops, delivered by over 120 artists in some 200 venues across Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. JMC reaches an audience of about 140,000 people each, 100,000 of which are children between the ages of three and 12.
The Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation wishes to thank its partners and sponsors:
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