Jean-Philippe Tremblay
Conductor

Universally hailed by the Canadian press as “a great interpreter” with “a true musical vision”, 28 year old French Canadian conductor and violist Jean-Philippe Tremblay has developed an impressive and varied international career.

Mr. Tremblay has conducted the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Orchestra of Dresden, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and concerts in Spain, England and France, California and Florida.

At home he has conducted extensively at the invitation of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, the Toronto Youth Symphony, the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, the Sinfonia Nova Scotia, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, where he was Assistant Conductor to Pinchas Zukerman from 2001 to 2003.

Last season’s highlights include appearances with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony, and the Budapest Radio Chamber Orchestra. U pcoming engagements include concerts with the Rotterdam and Seoul Philharmonics, Ensemble Moderne Contemporain in Paris, a North American tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Pinchas Zuckerman as soloist and concerts in London, Chicago and Oslo.

In addition to his extensive symphonic engagements Mr. Tremblay is active in the operatic world, conducting each season professionally mounted productions of the great operatic classics for Jeunesses Musicales duCanada in various centers around the country.

Jean-Philippe Tremblay has been music director of the Orchestre de la Francophonie canadienne (OFC) since its founding in the summer of 2001. The orchestra performs at various annual Canadian festivals and their concerts are broadcast frequently by Radio-Canada's cultural channel. In December 2006, Mr. Tremblay and the OFC embarked on their first international tour to China, performing concerts and master classes in 13 different cities, the largest concert tour by a North American symphonic orchestra to visit China to date.

Active as a recording artist, Mr. Tremblay’s recently transcribed Robert Schumann String Quartets, Op. 41 for string orchestra have been released to critical acclaim on the Naxos label in September 2006. In the same period he released on the 21X label performances of the Max Bruch Violin ConcertoNo. 1 with violinist Alexandre da Costa followed by an all-symphonic release with the Orchestre de la Francophonie canadienne of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 on the Analekta label. He has also recorded more than 15 concerts for CBC Radio.

Mr. Tremblay has received the Joyce Conger Award for the Arts, the Rose Roitman Award and a honorary member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. In September, 2003, MacLeans Magazine presented him as a “Leader of Tomorrow” in its “Top 30 under 30”, celebrating young Canadian personalities. He also received the musician’s prize at the 2002 Dimitris Mitropoulos International Competition for Orchestral Conducting (Greece). In 2004-2005, he was selected by Kurt Masur and Christoph von Dohnanyi as one of three participants in the Allianz International Conductors Academy in London.

An avid chamber musician, every year Jean-Philippe Tremblay swaps his baton for his viola to perform in various North American festivals. He is also Artistic Adviser for the New York-based Tremblay Ensemble, a close collaborator with Jeunesses Musicales duCanada in Montreal and he acts as a faculty member to young conductors and composers for the Young Artists Programme at the National Center of the Arts in Ottawa.

Mr. Tremblay was trained in viola, composition and conducting at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec (Chicoutimi), the Faculty of music at Université de Montréal, the Pierre Monteux School, Maine, Tanglewood Music Center and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has studied under such renowned artists as Robert Spano, Seiji Ozawa, André Prévin, Jorman Prévin, Jorman Panula, Paolo Bellomia and Michael Jinbo.