Elisabeth St-Gelais, German romantic evening
Seasoned clarinetist Maryse Legault joins Elisabeth St-Gelais and Louise Pelletier for a concert entirely dedicated to German music and the repertoire for soprano, clarinet, and piano.
GERMAN ROMANTIC EVENING
Elisabeth St-Gelais, soprano
Maryse Legault, clarinet
Louise Pelletier, piano
AN EARLY LOOK AT THE REPERTOIRE*
J.BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Zigeunerlieder, Opus 103
F.SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965
F.SCHUBERT (1797-1828) R.SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Fantasiestücke, Opus 73
Artist-in-residence presented by:
BIOGRAPHIES
Elisabeth St-Gelais, soprano
Named Radio-Canada’s 2023- 2024 classical breakout artist, in April 2023 Elisabeth St-Gelais completed a master’s degree in the Opera and Voice program at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. A member of the Innu nation, from the community of Pessamit, she accords immense importance to sharing her culture through her mission as an artist. She made her European debut in the summer of 2022 at the Berlin Opera Academy, in the role of Rosalinde in the operetta Die Fledermaus. Ms. St-Gelais has performed throughout Canada, notably with the Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean, Orchestre symphonique de la Côte-Nord, I Musici de Montréal, Orchestre de l’Agora, Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Orchestre des Jeunes de Montréal. In 2022, she won McGill University’s prestigious Wirth Vocal Prize, and the Grand Prize in the 19-30 age category at the Canimex Canadian Music Competition. That same year, she was featured in CBC’s prestigious “30 Hot Classical Musicians under 30” list, and in 2023, she was awarded the Prix d’Europe in Montreal and the First prize and Audience Choice at the Center Stage 2023 competition of the Canadian Opera Company. In november 2023, she is the western canada district winner for the MET OPERA LAFFONT COMPETITION. Deeply engaged with the montreal’ musical community, she is since April 2023 part of the boards of directors of the Conseil de la Musique du Québec.
Maryse Legault, clarinet
Maryse Legault received her master’s degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag in June 2017, specializing in historical clarinet performance in the studio of Eric Hoeprich. Maryse had the opportunity to perform with many ensembles and under the direction of many conductors, including John Butt, Alexander Weimann, Teodor Currentzis and François-Xavier Roth. One of the only Canadian women performing on period clarinets and the first graduate from Quebec in the field of historical clarinets, she has been recognized for her impressive finger technique challenging historical performance standards, her daring choices of repertoire, as well as the flexibility and expressiveness of her interpretations. Her research endeavours focus on the virtuoso phenomenon of the turn of the 19th century. She has written the first comprehensive biography of the 18th-century international clarinetist Josef Beer (1744-1812) and is currently pursuing a PhD in musicology at McGill University. She has presented her research as a guest lecturer at Oxford University in the conference Transforming 19th Performance Practice in 2017.
Maryse is recipient of a prize from the Sylva-Gelber Music Foundation and was awarded the Joseph-Armand-Bombardier research fellowship from the SSHRC, as well as a doctoral grant from the OICRM. She also received the Early Music America Summer Scholarship and benefited from Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada’s support between 2016 and 2021. Additionally, she received the Schulich School of Music Fellowship upon acceptance in the doctoral program and is supported by the Canada Arts Council and CALQ.
Louise Pelletier, piano
Known for her sensitivity and enthusiasm, Louise Pelletier has led a dynamic and remarkable career as a pianist, accompanist and vocal coach. For over 20 years, Mrs. Pelletier has held the position of accompanist/vocal coach at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music and has often served as a rehearsal pianist for Opera McGill. A faithful and devoted accompanist, she has worked in the voice studios of Bill Neill, Thérèse Savadjian, Winston Purdy, Joanne Kolomyjec, Lucille Evans, Michael Meraw, Yolande Parent, Catherine Sévigny, Marie Daveluy, Sanford Sylvan, Stefano Algieri and Dominique Labelle.
Having a vast knowledge of both recital and operatic repertoire, Louise is often called upon as an official pianist for competitions, auditions for Young Artist programs and various summer training programs. She is an official pianist for the Canadian Music Competition as well as the International Stepping Stone Competition and serves as an official pianist for the Canadian Opera Company auditions in Montreal. She is also regularly hired by the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques to play auditions and gala concerts. She has served as accompanist at the American Institute for Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria and for several years been an important part of the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (CVAI) in Montreal, serving as coach and accompanist, alongside Joan Dornemann and many notable teachers from New York’s Metropolitan Opera. While still being an active member of the CVAI faculty, for the past two years, Louise has also been the vocal coach and in charge of the scenes program at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Summer Opera Studio. As a member of the faculty of CCM’s Summer Opera Studio, she has played for the voice classes of William McGraw and Joyce Miller, as well as staging rehearsals for directors Vernon Hartman and Vince Degeorge. Other stage directors she has worked closely with include Renaud Doucet, Patrick Hansen and François Racine.
She collaborates with many of the major orchestras across Quebec, such as l’Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Longueuil, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Festival de Lanaudière and the Orchestre Métropolitain, and has occupied the positions of répétiteur, pianist, and harpsichordist for choral works, symphonic works and operatic works. A versatile and highly sought-after colleague, she has worked with many leading conductors, including Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Véronique Lacroix, Julian Wachner, Jean-Francois Rivest, Agnès Grossman, Marc David, Boris Brott, Miklos Takacs and most notably, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Her close relationship with Maestro Nézet-Séguin was one that first developed over a period of 6 years at the Choeur de Laval, and they then went on together to the Orchestre Métropolitain, where Louise continues to serve as the pianist for the choir. Other musical projects with Yannick Nézet-Séguin include Hänsel and Gretel in a collaboration between Théâtre sans fil and the Orchestre Métropolitain, as well as Pélléas et Mélisande at the Opéra de Montréal.
* Les JM Canada se réservent le droit de modifier le répertoire sans préavis.
