Musicians.
The young Canadian violinist Marie Bégin stands out by her great sensibility, her dynamism and her unique musical ideas. She was heard in recitals in North America, all across Europe and in China. She played as a soloist with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Violons du Roy, the Agora Symphony Orchestra, the Levis Symphony Orchestra, the Eurasia Chamber Orchestra, among others.
Besides her accomplishments as a soloist, Marie is a passionate chamber music player. Since 2018, she is a member of the renowned Saguenay Quartet.
She started the violin at three years old with both of her parents, professional violonists. She completed her musical studies at the Quebec Conservatory of music under the guidance of Darren Lowe, Andrée Azar and Jean Angers. She is currently studying with Zakhar Bron in Switzerland, at the Zakhar Bron Academy. She also received thoughtful advice and support from many great musicians such as Maxim Vengerov, Pierre Amoyal, Christian Tetzlaff, Miriam Fried, Rodney Friend, among many others.
Marie Bégin is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. She plays on a wonderful Vuillaume 1858 graciously loaned by CANIMEX.
Marie Bégin
Nathalie Camus
Born in Montréal, Nathalie Camus studied at the St Louis Conservatory of Music in Missouri, under the tutelage of Taras Gabora. She performed in classes of Henryk Szerying, Isaac Stern, Franco Gulli and studied chamber music with Sacha Schneider (Budapest Quartet) and Micheal Tree (Guarneri Quartet). She spent summers at the Grand Teton festival in Wyoming, The Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, and participated in masterclasses given by the Melos Quartet at the Hindemith Institute in Switzerland. Nathalie Camus was a member of the Detroit Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec,and Les Violons du Roy before co-founding the Alcan Quartet in 1989. In addition to her position in the quartet Ms. Camus is the concertmistress of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Symphony Orchestra. She has toured throughout North America and Europe. Nathalie is Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Québec Conservatory of Music in Chicoutimi (Québec).
Luc Beauchemin is principal viola of the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean Symphony Orchestra and violist in the Alcan String Quartet. He is presently violin and chamber music teacher at the Québec Conservatory of Music in Saguenay. Born in Québec City, he graduated from Laval University as a violinisti. His studies continued in France where he participated in classes of Ludmila Choubina et Youri Bashmet. He spent several summers at the Banff Center for the Arts in Alberta, studying chamber music. Luc is a founding-member of the Sinfonietta de Radio-Canada, Les Violons du Roy, and the Artur Leblanc Quartet. He has also performed chamber music with the Orford Quartet, Maureen Forester and Eugene Drucker, Alain Lefèvre and other renowned musicians. The composer Marc Bélanger wrote for Luc a very unique concerto for «violinist-violist» and orchestra in witch the soloist has to perform alternatively violin and viola. Luc also produced a recording featuring works of three legendary musicians from Québec, Arthur LeBlanc, André Mathieu and Félix Leclerc.
Luc Beauchemin
David Ellis was raised in Vermont, studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he was a student of David Soyer, cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet. He has worked with Janos Starker and Maurice Gendron among others. From 1982 to 1987, Mr. Ellis played in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under conductor Leonard Slatkin, touring throughout the United States and Far East. In 1988 he was appointed co-principal cellist of the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montréal and in 1989 became a founding member of the Alcan Quartet. Mr. Ellis is also the principal cellist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. Since 1997 he has held the position of professor of cello at the Québec Conservatory of Music in Chicoutimi, and has been a visiting Professor of Chamber Music at the University of Montréal. He has given masterclasses throughout Québec and in Central America. As a member of the Alcan Quartet he plays regularly in concert throughout Canada, the USA and Europe.
David Ellis