Olivier Thouin
Encyclopedia
Olivier Thouin is a Canadian violin
ist. He has performed as a soloist with several leading symphony orchestras in Canada, including the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Les Violons du Roy
, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
. A highly active chamber music
ian, he has performed several times at the Caramoor International Music Festival
, the Marlboro Festival, and the Toronto International Music Festival among others. He is a founding member of Trio Contrastes with whom he actively performed from 1998-2003. He can be heard on recordings made for Amberola Records and ATMA Records.
Born in Joliette, Quebec
, Thouin began studying the violin at the age of four with Hratchia Sevadjian. He is a graduate of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied with Sonia Jelinkova and was awarded the Prix avec Grande Distinction in 1995. After winning the Prix d’Europe and the Canadian Music Centre
’s Prize in 1997, he pursued further studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
with Ivan Straus
. He has also attended masterclasses taught by Igor Ozim in Switzerland.
Thouin is the former concertmaster
of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra
with whom he toured Asia, Europe and Israel. For his work with that ensemble he received the Cécile-Mesnard-Pomerleau Prize. In 1998 he won the Jules C. Reiner Violin Award at the Tanglewood Music Festival
and in 2002 he received the Young Canadian Musicians’ Award. He served as the concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra
in the 2004-2005 season.
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. He has performed as a soloist with several leading symphony orchestras in Canada, including the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Les Violons du Roy
Les Violons du Roy
Les Violons du Roy is a French-Canadian chamber orchestra based in Québec City, Québec. The orchestra's principal venue is the Palais Montcalm in Québec City. The orchestra also performs concerts in Montréal at the Place des Arts, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and St...
, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
. A highly active chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
ian, he has performed several times at the Caramoor International Music Festival
Caramoor International Music Festival
The Caramoor International Music Festival is a summer music festival founded in 1945 that is held on the estate of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts Inc., which includes a Mediterranean-style stucco villa and is located about north of New York City in Katonah, New York.The Caramoor...
, the Marlboro Festival, and the Toronto International Music Festival among others. He is a founding member of Trio Contrastes with whom he actively performed from 1998-2003. He can be heard on recordings made for Amberola Records and ATMA Records.
Born in Joliette, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Thouin began studying the violin at the age of four with Hratchia Sevadjian. He is a graduate of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied with Sonia Jelinkova and was awarded the Prix avec Grande Distinction in 1995. After winning the Prix d’Europe and the Canadian Music Centre
Canadian Music Centre
The Canadian Music Centre holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music. The CMC exists to promote the works of its Associate Composers in Canada and around the world....
’s Prize in 1997, he pursued further studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague is a university level school of music, dance, drama, film, TV and multi-media studies.- Faculties :*Film and TV School - FAMU*Music Faculty - HAMU*Theatre Faculty - DAMU-Notable alumni:...
with Ivan Straus
Ivan Straus
Ivan Straus is a Czech violinist and music pedagogue. He is particularly associated with the works of Bohuslav Martinů. He has served as first violinist of the Suk Quartet since 1979. With the quartet he has toured internationally and made multiple recordings. He was previously a member of the...
. He has also attended masterclasses taught by Igor Ozim in Switzerland.
Thouin is the former concertmaster
Concertmaster
The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra
Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra
The Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra is a program of Jeunesses Musicales International. It was founded in 1949 by Igor Markevitch but its permanent structure dates back to 1970, when Gilles Lefebvre consolidated the world’s first youth orchestra...
with whom he toured Asia, Europe and Israel. For his work with that ensemble he received the Cécile-Mesnard-Pomerleau Prize. In 1998 he won the Jules C. Reiner Violin Award at the Tanglewood Music Festival
Tanglewood Music Festival
The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....
and in 2002 he received the Young Canadian Musicians’ Award. He served as the concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
in the 2004-2005 season.