Native of Québec City, Marie-Hélène Breault holds the Prix avec Grande Distinction from the Québec Conservatory and the Artist Diploma from Yale University. Her main teachers have been Lise Daoust and Ransom Wilson and she also studied with Raymond Guiot, Alain Marion and Emmanuel Pahud at Domaine Forget, and with Philippe Bernold at Nice’s International Summer Academy. Since 2003, she has been working regularly on Stockhausen’s works for flute with Kathinka Pasveer. She was awarded the First Prize of the Clermont-Pépin Competition and the Third Prize of the Université de Montréal concerto competition. She is also a winner of Yale’s concerto competition and she received a Prize of Excellence at the Stockhausen-Kurse Kürten 2004.

She has performed concerti with numerous orchestras (Yale, Collegium Musicum Schloss Pommersfelden, Université de Montréal, Conservatoire de Québec) and recorded several times for Radio-Canada as a solo and chamber music player. A member of the Ensemble Mont-Royal, she played with the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec and has toured across Canada with marimbist Catherine Meunier for the Jeunesses Musicales of Canada 2004-2005 season. In September 2005, Marie-Hélène completed her Doctor of Music in performance degree at the Université de Montréal. Her research was focused on Stockhausen’s flute music.

Marie-Julie Chagnon, clarinet

Clarinetist Marie-Julie Chagnon graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, having studied with Marie Picard. She worked with Robert Spring at the Arizona State University where she obtained a masters degree in music, after which she studied at McGill University with Robert Crowley and Michael Dumouchel.

Passionate about orchestral music and chamber music, she participated in numerous international festivals, including the National Repertory Orchestra, the Collegium Musicum Schloss Pommersfelden, the Cours international de musique de Morges, and the Pacific Music Festival under maestro Charles Dutoit. She also held the position of Second and E flat clarinet with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra during the 2002-2003 season. She appears regularly with the symphony orchestras of Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, and the chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy. Marie-Julie is a member of the Ensemble Mont-Royal, the new ensemble Soffio e Voce and the Quebec City Chamber Music Society. We can hear her on Radio-Canada’s jeunes artistes series’ web site.

Catherine Meunier, marimba

A native of Sherbrooke, Catherine Meunier is the first percussionist to win the Prix d’Europe, and she was also awarded the Canadian Music Centre Prize in 2000. As a soloist and chamber musician, Catherine Meunier gave recitals in Canada, the United States, Taiwan, and Japan and premiered several works for percussion and marimba. Active as a freelance musician, she played with MSO, OSS, OSTR, SMCQ, ECM, and Bradyworks. Ms. Meunier holds a D.Mus, from Université de Montréal, a G.P.D. from the Peabody Conservatory, a M.Mus from McGill University, and a B.Mus from Université de Sherbrooke. She is endorsed by the Pearl/Adams Corporation.

Web site: www.catherinemeunier.com

Pierre-Yves Martel, double bass

Double bassist, viola da gambist and composer Pierre-Yves Martel has continued to prove himself to be one of the truly promising Canadian musicians of his generation. His work spans the gamut from improvised and experimental music, to orchestral and early music. Pierre-Yves is an active member of Montreal's well-known Musique Actuelle scene. He often shares the stage with some of Canada's most provocative musicians including veterans Jean Derome, Lori Freedman and Joane Hétu. He also enjoys a close working relationship with a new generation of musicians that includes Philippe Lauzier, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Antoine Berthiaume.

In 2006, he released Engagement & Confrontation, a recording for solo prepared double bass, on the Ambiances Magnétiques label. The album met with critical success in North America and Europe, and ranked in the top ten recordings of the year in Coda magazine.

Outside of the avant-garde, Pierre-Yves is also in demand in the worlds of orchestral and chamber music. He often performs with ensembles including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Mont-Royal.

Shawn Mativetsky, percussion

Versatile percussionist Shawn Mativetsky performs in a variety of musical genres with dynamism and skill. Equally at home in Western classical and contemporary/new music, Indian classical music, and world music, Shawn also composes and performs music for dance and theatre. He is active in the promotion of the tabla and North Indian classical music through lectures, workshops, and performances across Canada and the United States. Based in Montreal, Shawn teaches tabla and percussion, both privately and at McGill University, where he directs the McGill Tabla Ensemble.

As an ensemble musician, Shawn Mativetsky’s wide range is evident in his work with three very different groups: the contemporary music group Ensemble Mont-Royal, violinist Parmela Attariwala’s cross-cultural Attar Project, and the Indian-folk group Galitcha. Shawn has given acclaimed solo performances at the Banaras Hindu University (India), the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and the Société des Arts Technologiques. He has appeared as guest soloist with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Musica Nova, Ensemble Fusions, GEMS, and the percussion ensembles at the University of Toronto, McGill University, and William Paterson University.

Shawn Mativetsky is a ganda-band disciple of Pandit Sharda Sahai of the Benares tabla gharana and has also studied tabla with Bob Becker. Shawn holds a Master’s degree in music from McGill University and has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Shawn Mativetsky plays and endorses SABIAN cymbals.

Web site: www.shawnmativetsky.com