Bernard Labadie

“…A fine instinctive musician. He moulds the phrases, plucks out all-important details in the texture and radiates an infectious joy in the music.”

The Telegraph, Les Violons du Roy, Barbican Centre, London

Widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost specialists of baroque and classical repertoire, Bernard Labadie has a tremendous reputation for inspiring and enthusing those with whom he works. Founder of "Les Violons du Roy" in 1984, he is the Artistic and Music Director of the orchestra and conducts regular concert seasons in Canada and on tour throughout the United States and Europe. His guest conducting engagements, combining his knowledge of early music practices on modern instruments, have included appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and he has recently made his débuts with the San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra. Labadie regularly also conducts Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco.

2007-08 is another season full of noteworthy appearances with top orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony (marking his third appearance), St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Edmonton Symphony, to name a few. In Europe, he conducts the NDR Symphony in Hannover, Germany, the Orquestra Simfonica del Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow. Upcoming seasons will feature him on a tour of Australian orchestras (Melbourne, Brisbane, Tasmania) in October 2008 and debuts with the Chicago Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and Boston Symphony among others.

Photo: Luc Delisle