Quebec conductor Bernard Labadie wins National Arts Award
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | 11:22 AM ET
CBC News
Quebec-based conductor Bernard Labadie, founder and director of the orchestra Les Violons du Roy and the chamber choir La Chapelle de Québec, has been named winner of the National Arts Award by the Banff Centre in Banff, Alta.
"The National Arts Award celebrates his leadership of one of this country's most important chamber ensembles, but also his remarkable influence on the preservation and development of classical music repertoire," Sarah Iley, Banff Centre vice president of programming, said in a statement released Wednesday.
The $5,000 award, which includes a two-week creative residency at Banff, is given annually to recognize individuals who have made a contribution to the arts in Canada.
Les Violons du Roy performs modern interpretations of 17th and 18th century compositions and has become central to Quebec's music scene under Labadie's direction.
It has recorded 12 CDs with the French and English networks of CBC and toured across Canada and around the world.
"This is a great honour for me, but it also recognizes the hard work and dedication of all the wonderful artists I work with in Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle du Québec," Labadie said after accepting the award.
Labadie is a former artistic director of L'Opera du Québec and of L'Opera du Montréal and is in demand as a guest conductor of both opera and orchestral music.
He will soon debut with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera.
Past recipients of the National Arts Award, which rotates among the artistic disciplines, include Margaret Atwood, Zacharias Kunuk, Timothy Findley, Denys Arcand, R. Murray Schafer, A.Y Jackson, Maureen Forrester and Anton Kuerti.
Share Tools
- Glee's 'unintentional' tribute to Whitney Houstonby Arts Online Feb. 15, 2012 5:40 PM When Glee included a rendition of I Will Always Love You, sung by Amber Riley (Mercedes), in its Valentine's Day episode, it was pure serendipity. The performance had been planned as one of several songs celebrating love and, after Whitney Houston's untimely death Saturday, the network added a line of tribute to the woman who made the song famous.
Top News Headlines
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- The Ontario government must curtail its spending with the kind of cuts not seen since the Mike Harris years, according to a report by former TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
- Whitney Houston funeral to be livestreamed
- Whitney Houston's funeral will be livestreamed, to satisfy the desire of fans to grieve alongside family members at the Saturday memorial. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Hudson Bay Co. archives includes film treasure trove
- A Hudson's Bay Co. collection of films from the early 20th century showing fur-trading life in the North has been transferred back to Winnipeg and is to be screened at the Archives of Manitoba. more »
- Missing Karel Appel works found in British warehouse
- More than 400 works by Dutch artist Karel Appel have been discovered in a British storage warehouse a decade after they went missing. more »
- Montreal museum offers reward after artifact theft
- Quebec police are seeking the recovery of two ancient artifacts stolen from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts last fall, with a substantial reward offered. more »
- The Artist, Hugo spotlight film preservation
- While The Artist and Hugo are showered with attention ahead of the upcoming Academy Awards, cinema experts say the movies are also shining a much-needed spotlight on the issue of film preservation. more »
Q Blog
The great monogamy debate Feb. 15, 2012 1:41 PM Is it time to start taking alternatives to monogamy seriously in our culture? Listen in to the Q debate and let us know what you think.
CBC Books
- Choosing a Valentine's Day gift for the book lover in your life Feb. 15, 2012 2:45 PM CBC Books' Erin Balser and her partner, Matt Elliott, on the challenge of giving your sweetheart a book for Valentine's Day.
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- Barefoot girl's icy trek not blamed on babysitter
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Immigrants the proudest Canadians, poll suggests
- Honduras prison fire kills hundreds
- Bodyguard hired for bully victim in Fredericton
- Canadian housing market cools in January
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Russians' abusive plane tirade to cost them $19K
