Masterclasses

Born in Chicoutimi, Canada, Hélène Collerette discovered music thanks to her musician mother and music-loving father. She studied under Pierre Amoyal, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Vladimir Landsman, and Langis Breton, and has received several international awards in France (Bordeaux competition), England (London String Quartet competition), Italy (Florence competition), Switzerland (Sion, Tibor Varga), and Canada.

Since 1996, Hélène Collerette has been the Associate Concertmaster of the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to that, she held positions as Concertmaster of the Mulhouse Symphony Orchestra and the Lyon National Opera. Her extensive knowledge of the orchestral repertoire, acquired through collaborations with renowned conductors such as Dudamel, Salonen, Jarvi, Boulez, Gilbert, Chung, Jordan, and Franck, has led to invitations to conduct Mozart ensemble formations with orchestras including the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra and the Auvergne National Orchestra, performing works by Haydn, Mozart, Suk, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Piazzolla.

As a soloist, Hélène Collerette has performed with prestigious orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra, and Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Koopman, Jarvi, Jordan, Chung, Janowski, Rophé, and Roth. Her repertoire spans from concertos by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Sibelius to works by Bartok, Lutoslawski, Thoresen, and the premiere of Hersant’s Double Concerto (Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Pascal Rophé), which has recently been released by Hortus.

In 1995, she co-founded the Renoir Quartet, with whom she has undertaken numerous tours in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Canada. The quartet’s recordings have been acclaimed by critics (Diapason, Classica). Hélène Collerette, admired for both her artistic sensitivity and her respect for the works, shares her passion for chamber music with François-René Duchâble, Roland Pidoux, Abdel Rahman el Bacha, François-Frédéric Guy, Marc-André Hamelin, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Paul Katz, Romain Guyot, Alain Meunier, Adam Laloum, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Vanessa Wagner.

Her performances have taken her to prestigious venues such as the Auditorium of Radio France, Salle Pleyel, Wilfrid Pelletier Hall in Montreal, Palais Montcalm in Quebec, Jiangsu Grand Theatre, Shanghai Opera House, and renowned festivals including the “Présences” Festival of Radio France, Laon Festival, Besançon Festival, Folles Journées, Les flâneries de Reims, Croisements Festival, Lanaudière Festival, Arras Festival, Rennes Lunchtime Concerts, and ArtenetrA Festival.

Driven by her desire to explore new repertoire, Hélène Collerette joined the Phileas ensemble and the Paris String Trio in 2015, and more recently, the renowned Élégiaque Trio. With these ensembles, she frequently performs in various cities and festivals, including Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, and more.

Inspired by the artistic encounters throughout her career, Hélène Collerette enriches her repertoire with contemporary works and premieres, collaborating with composers such as Dutilleux, Salonen, Hersant, Thoresen, and Fedele. She has also embarked on daring projects, such as reinterpretations of works by Arvo Pärt with pianist Vanessa Wagner and electronic music artist Murcof, as well as recent recordings of works by Bartok, Kurtag, and Ravel with cymbalists Cyril Dupuy and Ludovit Kovak.

Hélène Collerette plays a 1732 Guarnerius Del Gesù violin.

Martin Mangrum has been Second Bassoon of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 2000. Prior to his appointment in Montréal, he was Principal Bassoon of the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, and Assistant-Principal of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya. Martin holds a Doctorate   from the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Stephen Maxym (his doctoral document is a method for the bassoon based on his teachings).  He has also studied extensively with Mordechai Rechtman, with whom he continues to collaborate closely. Currently, Martin teaches bassoon and chamber music at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, as well as at the Université de Montréal.

Giovanni Andrea Zanon is an Italian violinist who has performed extensively worldwide in prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Philharmonie in Paris, Musikverein in Graz, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Smetana Hall in Prague, Bayerisches Staatsoper in Munich, Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Royal Opera House in Muscat, Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, and Arena di Verona.

In February 2022, he represented Italy at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. The event was broadcasted worldwide and reached over a billion viewers.

As a soloist, Zanon has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Fabio Luisi, Pinchas Zukerman, Theodore Guschlbauer, Donato Renzetti, Marco Armiliato, Andrea Battistoni, Omer Meir Wellber, and Jader Bignamini.

Passionate about chamber music, he has also collaborated with artists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Anna Netrebko, Mario Brunello, and Pablo Ferrandez.

James Thompson is currently retiring from his Professor of Trumpet position at the Eastman School of Music. He held this position for 25 years. He came to this position having played Principal Trumpet in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since September 1990. He has held corresponding positions with the Phoenix Symphony, the Orchestra of the State of Mexico, the National Symphony of Mexico, and for 14 years, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, he was raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he began trumpet studies at the age of ten. His principal teachers included Richard Longfield and Roger Voisin.

     Mr. Thompson has been active both as a soloist and a teacher. He has taught trumpet and Brass Ensemble at Northern Arizona University, the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has also performed as soloist with orchestras in North and South America as well as Europe. In 1979 he competed in the first Maurice Andre International Trumpet Competition and was a prizewinner. He has made recital tours to Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America. He has also been a guest artist with the Summit Brass, a brass chamber ensemble made up of members from America’s finest orchestras, and Chicago’s Music of the Baroque.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Opening Ceremonies he was seen performing a jazz/gospel trumpet solo on television more than 3 billion people. In the last few years he has performed as guest Principal Trumpet with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as Boston, Baltimore Seattle and orchestras in Italy and Germany. In the spring of 2010 Mr. Thompson was a member of the international jury for the Prague Spring Competition.

    Mr. Thompson has also actively encouraged new compositions for the trumpet. In 1987 he performed the world premiere of Malcolm Forsyth’s Concerto for Trumpet, which was written for him and the Montreal Symphony. He has recorded this concerto with the Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra for CBC Records in May 1992. In 1990 he performed the Quebec premier of Jacques Hetu’s Trumpet Concerto, and in March of 1992 he gave the world premier of the Glenn Buhr Concerto for Trumpet, also written for him and the Montreal Symphony.

    Mr. Thompson can be heard on London Decca recordings with the Montreal Symphony, and Telarc’s Atlanta Symphony releases. He has also recorded on the Chandos Label in performances, which include, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets, and the critically acclaimed Shostakovich Concerto #1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings.  In recent years he has recorded Danzante , a CD for Summit Records, of Trumpet concertos with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and American Portrait, Music  for Trumpet and Piano, for the ITG. Mr. Thompson is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Karl Stobbe is recognized as one of Canada’s most accomplished and versatile violinists, admired for his generous and rich sound, as well as his long and poignant phrasing. Whether as a conductor, concertmaster, soloist, or chamber musician, he is highly regarded by audiences in both small venues and large concert halls. His recording of Ysaÿe’s Sonatas for Solo Violin, released by Avie Records, was nominated for JUNO Awards and garnered worldwide attention, including praise from The Sunday Times in London, which hailed Karl as a “master soloist, evoking the golden age of violin performance… producing a breathtaking range of sonorous colors.” Continuing his longstanding love for solo violin music, Karl recently created an online concert series featuring all of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. He has performed in North America’s most renowned concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York and Jordan Hall in Boston, and has shared the stage with some of the most important and eclectic violinists of our time, such as James Ehnes and Mark O’Connor.

Durant plus de trente ans, Joel Quarrington fut Contrebasse-solo de nombreux orchestres dont le Canadian Opera Company, l’Orchestre symphonique de Toronto, l’Orchestre du Centre national des Arts du Canada, ainsi que du célèbre London Symphony Orchestra.

Né à Toronto, Joel débuta ses études en contrebasse dès l’âge de treize ans. Au terme de celles-ci, il remporta la palme du Concours de Radio-Canada en plus du prestigieux Concours de Genève.

Professeur dévoué, Joel enseigne au Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, à l’Université McGill et est nommé « artiste invité » enseignant au Royal Academy of Music de Londres. En plus de ses activités de professeur invité dans de nombreuses écoles à travers le monde, Joel donne des classes de maître à chaque été à Orford Musique.

Joel Quarrington a enregistré de nombreux disques comme soliste, dont certains ont gagné des Prix Juno et Opus. Le International Society of Bassists lui a décerné les prix  spéciaux soulignant ses performances exceptionnelles en tant que soliste ainsi que de musicien d’orchestre.

Joel joue la contrebasse du maître italien Santo Paolo Maggini datant de 1666.