Marlène Ngalissamy

Marlène Ngalissamy was appointed principal bassoon of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec in May 2022. She has also played with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, The Philadelphia Orchestra and as guest principal bassoon with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota.

Marlène studied under Mathieu Harel and Stéphane Lévesque at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal before completing a graduate degree at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under Daniel Matsukawa.

She has participated in workshops at a number of chamber music festivals, including Domaine Forget, the National Arts Centre, the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and the Pablo Casals Festival in France. She is also an alum of the Pacific Music Festival in Japan. Marlène is a Hnatyshyn grant recipient and a Meg Quigley competition finalist and placed first at the 2013 Canadian Music Competition.

In 2020 and 2021, Marlène traveled to London, England, to perform with the Chineke! Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall, where she recorded works by Samuel Coleridge‑Taylor.

She was recently invited to perform with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in a program of works for bassoon, voice, and piano, and has been on the faculty of the National Youth Orchestra Canada since summer 2023.