Yoav Talmi
The 2008-09 season mark Maestro Talmi's 10 th anniversary as Artistic Director of the OSQ – as well as his 40 years anniversary of conducting-career. During that season, Yoav Talmi will continue his impressive international career, conducting – among others, the Montréal Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic and orchestras in Korea, Israel, Spain, Puerto Rico, Toronto and New York.
Last March, Talmi led the historic performance of Mahler's 8 th Symphony at the Colisée de Québec with 1000 performers. Twelve thousands enthusiastic spectators heard this spectacular event – celebrating the 400 anniversary of the city of Québec.
In July (2008), Maestro Talmi was warded the top cultural award – the Frank Peleg Prize - from the Israeli government for his high-level artistic achievements through many years of activity.
Last August, Maestro Talmi presented Tchaikovsky's percussive 1812 Overture and Orff's Carmina Burana to an audience of 60,000 people in a performance that brought over 300 artists together on stage.
On August 25 th 2008, Maestro Talmi was presented with Québec City 's official 400 th anniversary medal for his generous contribution to the anniversary celebrations, with Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand in March, the Clan des oiseaux multimedia project, the July concert with Jorane at the Agora, and the concert on the Plains. The medal was also awarded to other eminent figures such as Paul McCartney, Robert Lepage , Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, and Québec premier Jean Charest.
Yoav Talmi and the OSQ
Since Yoav Talmi was appointed artistic director of the OSQ, the Orchestre has stood out in many respects. Under his direction, the Quebec City based orchestra has conducted its first Canadian tour, has made six recordings and has regularly participated in such prestigious festivals as Lanaudière, Domaine Forget , Festival d'été de Québec and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra's Mozart Plus Festival. During this period, OSQ subscriptions have increased by some 40 percent .
Talmi/OSQ's recording with pianist Alain Lefèvre reached and held the number one position in Classical CD charts in Canada for several months and won a Félix for the “Album of the year - Classical/ Orchestra and Large Ensemble”. French Showpieces with violinist James Ehnes also won a Félix. This CD was named ‘Record of the Month' by the French recording magazine Répertoire and received a perfect mark in Diapason . Talmi/OSQ's televised performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana at the Lanaudiere Festival won a Gémeaux Award from Radio-Canada for the best TV classical production. The OSQ's latest recording, Debussy's Children's Corner , continues to receive unanimous critical acclaim. The Belgian magazine Crescendo awarded the recording its Joker Prize and both the French and English critics of Classics Today gave it 10 out of 10.
Guest Conductor
Yoav Talmi is regularly invited to conduct the greatest orchestras in the world. He has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam 's Concertgebouw, the St. Petersburg , Oslo , Stockholm , Warsaw and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras; the Prague , Hamburg and Vienna Symphony Orchestras; the Orchestre National de France, Zurich 's Tonhalle, the Santa Cecilia Academ in Rome , as well as all the leading orchestras of London . In North America, Yoav Talmi has conducted the orchestras of Pittsburgh , Detroit , Saint Louis , Houston , Montreal , Indianapolis , Dallas , Vancouver and Seattle . On a number of occasions, he has also conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra, broadcast on Japanese national radio, as well as the New Japan Philharmonic and the Tokyo Symphony.
Training, Artistic Direction, Recordings
Born in Israel , Yoav Talmi was a recipient of the prestigious Koussevitzky Memorial Conducting Prize and laureate of the Rupert Conductor's Competition in London . Mr. Talmi was Music Director of the Arnhem Philharmonic in the Netherlands (1974-1980), Principal Guest-Conductor of the Munich Philharmonic (1979-80), Music Director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the New Israeli Opera (1984-88), Music Director of the San Diego Symphony in California (1989-96), and Chief Conductor of the Hamburg Symphony (2000–2004).
Maestro Talmi has recorded for the Chandos, Decca, Teldec, EMI, Pro-ARTE, CBC, Analekta and NAXOS labels. His recording of Bruckner's 9 th Symphony with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque in Paris , while his recording of Schoenberg and Tchaikovsky with the Israel Chamber Orchestra was chosen "Record of the month" by Germany 's ‘Fono-Forum' magazine.
Talmi serves also as Principal Guest Conductor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra in Tel Aviv.
In June 2001, Yoav Talmi was awarded an honorary doctorate Université Laval in recognition of this contribution to Quebec City 's cultural life.
|
 |
Richard Lee
Conductor
Richard Lee has bathed in music from the time his mother gave him his first toy piano at age 3. At age 5, he started taking courses on a real piano and soon picked up the violin. In ten years he reached the 10th degree of exams at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, first in piano, then in violin.
After briefly considering a career in science, Richard Lee chose to register at the University of Toronto to pursue his graduate studies in musical interpretation, on the violin and viola at the same time. He worked with top level professors, including Lorand Fenyves, Rennie Regehr and Ken Perkins, then turned to conducting. His first masters were Pierre Hétu and Dwight Bennett, followed later on by Yoav Talmi, Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Kirk Trevor and Zdenek Bílek.
During his university studies, Richard Lee was the principal violin of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for three years. He won numerous prizes and distinctions, including the Kathleen Parlow and Nick Gelmych violin scholarships, as well as an Eaton Graduate Fellowship. He obtained his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Toronto, under the tutelage of Raffi Armenian, thanks to the Victor Feldbrill National Graduate Fellowship.
Richard Lee has participated in numerous master class courses with such leaders as Pinchas Zukerman, Rivka Golani, Charles Castleman, Gunther Herbig, Andrew Davis, Helmuth Rilling, as well as the Julliard, Emerson, Muir and Budapest quartets.
In 2005, Richard Lee was appointed Assistant Resident Conductor of the OSQ. Prior to that, he was Assistant Resident Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony and had conducted the Lakehead University Wind Ensemble. He has been musical director of the Korean Canadian Symphony Orchestra, in Toronto, since 1997. He has also conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Huntsville Festival Orchestra, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Republic’s Bohuslava Martinu Philharmonic. From 1992 to 1997, he was master singer of the Korean United Church English Choir in Toronto and chorister of the renowned Mendelssohn Choir in Toronto. A teacher, he has taught music at the Toronto District School Board.
Richard Lee follows current events, enjoys savouring quality beer and spends his time between his residences in Quebec City and Toronto. During the few moments of free time that his schedule of activities and travel affords him, he rides his bike, reads and is an avid Toronto Raptors fan.
Since September, Richard Lee has been a guest professor at the Université Laval Music Faculty.
|
 |
