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≈ 20 minutes · No intermission
Violinist Marjolaine Lambert, a native of Joliette but self-proclaimed Montrealer, started her music studies at the age of four years old, following the footsteps of her brother, violist Frédéric Lambert. At a young age, her natural talent led her to join the studio of Johanne Arel and Raymond Dessaints at Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, which she graduated from in 2005. With a passion for learning and broadening her general knowledge, she went to McGill University in the class of Denise Lupien. Studying the rudiments of mandarin as a minor, it led her to tour through China as Principal Second violin of the Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne.
Upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree with honour, she went to Yale University for her Master’s degree to study with Ani Kavafian. There, she thrived as the concertmaster of the Yale Philharmonia and winner of the Woolsey Concerto Competition. Establishing strong collaborations with contemporary composers, maestro Julian Wachner and herself created Novus NYC, an orchestra devoted to new music, of which she acted as concertmaster. She had the opportunity to premiere works by David Lang, Bernard Rands and Christopher Theofanidis.
Her passion for new music led her to pursue a Doctorate of Music at McGill University, with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which focused on the hyper-violin created by Pierre Boulez in his Anthèmes. Her work with live electronics has brought her interesting and different kinds of projects, including the world premiere of Les Gestes, a creation of dance choreographer Isabelle Van Grimde.
Marjolaine has performed as a soloist under many conductors such as Yuli Turovsky, Peter Oundjian, and Shinik Hahm. As a chambrist, she's been invited to perform often with Les Violons du Roy, I Musici, and Arcos Chamber Orchestra.
In her rare spare time, Marjolaine enjoys watching an impressive amount of TV shows, discovering the depths of performance practice on her Baroque violin, or rocking out stadiums with Céline Dion.
She is thrilled to be a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, as of September 2016.
Born in Toronto, Marjolaine Fournier was raised in Chicoutimi after her family moved to the Saguenay in 1974. Long standing principal double bass with the Orchestre Symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, she was a founding member of its Orchestre de Chambre in 1986. A bass student at the Conservatoire de musique de Chicoutimi and Trois-Rivières, she graduated with a Premier Prix in double bass and a Premier Prix in chamber music in 1989.
In 1991, after having been solo-double bass with the Jeunes Virtuoses of Montreal and the New York Chamber Soloists, she won a position with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Marjolaine was appointed Assistant Principal Bass with NACO in 1997. In addition to playing in Ottawa, she enjoys teaching double bass at the Conservatoire de musique à Gatineau and is a member of the Kikyo Ensemble. The quartet, composed of friends from the NAC Orchestra, performs works written or arranged for its unusual formation: violin, viola, cello and bass, in a wide diversity of repertoire, combinations and styles.
On the side, Ms Fournier plays the viola da gamba, the violone, the clarinet and likes to play other styles and musical instruments as a very bad amateur. She also enjoys fishing, running, the outdoors, reading, listening to prog-rock, woodworking, video games, cooking (she finally learned how to make her own pie crust last year!) and is the French NAC Orchestra podcast host of the “BaladOCNA” series which you can find at www.nac-cna.ca/podcasts.
Marjolaine is a very proud recipient of the National Arts Centre’s “Good Ambassador Award”.
Kenneth Simpson, a native of Ottawa, obtained a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Ottawa in 1985 under the guidance of Ian Bernard, Timpanist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Further study continued over a long period with renowned teacher/performer Pierre Beluse of McGill University in Montreal.
As a student, Mr. Simpson won the prestigious NACO Bursary Award in 1983, as well as the Isobel Firestone Scholarship at the University of Ottawa in 1984.
Mr. Simpson was engaged as Percussionist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Principal Percussion of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and as Professor of Percussion at the University of Ottawa until his retirement in 2021.
Also very active in chamber music, Kenneth made several appearances on the NAC’s Music for a Sunday Afternoon, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Music and Beyond, and was a member of the Capital Brass Works.
Through the NAC, Mr. Simpson was very involved with Music in the Schools as part of the Percussion Duo "Bangers and Smash" and as clinician. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Kiwanis Music Festival, and is an endorser for Zildjian Cymbals in Boston, Mass.
Canadian percussionist and educator Andrew Harris is based in Ottawa where he enjoys performing with many of the finest ensembles in the region. Andrew is Principal Timpani & Percussion with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and has performed regularly with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with ensembles including Ottawa Choral Society, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Touring Broadway Productions, and the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces. Andrew has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Harold Crabtree Award (NAC Orchestra Bursary), the SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, and the Marusia Yaworska Scholarship.
As a chamber musician Andrew has performed with ensembles such as the Bel Canto Wind Quintet, Capital BrassWorks, and numerous percussion ensembles. He has appeared regularly in festivals including Music and Beyond and Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival.
Also an avid educator, Andrew enjoys instructing both privately and in group settings. He is Coordinator of the Percussion Sector at the University of Ottawa where he gives lessons and directs the percussion ensemble. He has been the percussion coach for the Ottawa Youth and Junior Youth Orchestras and frequently runs high school masterclasses and coaching sessions.
Andrew is a proud artist/endorser of Remo drumheads and Zildjian cymbals. He co-founded and continues to run the percussion-focused instrument rental company Percussion Warehouse.
Andrew obtained both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees summa cum laude from the University of Ottawa and was a two-time member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Outside of percussion, Andrew enjoys running, playing drum set, and spending time with his wife Victoria and their two daughters.