Martha Argerich is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of eight before receiving further piano training in Europe. At an early age, she won several competitions, including the VII International Chopin Piano Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni Competition and has since recorded numerous albums and performed with leading orchestras worldwide.
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts.
Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia.
Chantal Petitclerc is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec.
In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.
Angèle Dubeau, is a retired Canadian classical violinist. She has devoted a large part of her career to making classical music accessible to a wide audience and also frequently played works by contemporary composers. In October 2024, she announced that due to nerve damage in her right hand, she was no longer able to play the violin.
André Prévost, was a Canadian composer and music educator. He was awarded the Canadian Music Council Medal in 1977 and in 1985 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He also received the "Trophy for Concert Music" from the Performing Rights Organization of Canada.
Alain Trudel is a Canadian conductor, trombonist and composer.
Iwan Edwards was a Welsh-born Canadian choral conductor. Over a forty-year span he founded and conducted several choirs. He was appointed Member of the Order of Canada in 1995.
The St. Lawrence Choir is a Canadian mixed-voice choir that performs music from the classical choral repertoire as well as contemporary works by Canadian and other composers. It was founded in 1972.
Anne-Marie Withenshaw is a Canadian television and radio personality, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, C.M., C.Q. is a Canadian contralto. In 2000, she became the first Canadian to win first prize at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Belgium.
Colette Boky , is a French-Canadian operatic soprano, particularly associated with lyric roles in the French, Italian, and German repertories.
Yuli Turovsky OC CQ was a Soviet-born Canadian cellist, conductor and music educator. His name is mostly associated with the I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra, which he founded in 1983 and led until his death 30 years later.
John Zirbel is an American-born French horn player and teacher. He was the principal horn of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1978/1979–2019) and one of the principal horns at the Aspen Music Festival and School orchestra, and also spent a season as principal horn at the San Francisco Symphony and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as a soloist in concertos and chamber works, including giving the premieres of Jacques Hétu's Sérénade Héroique (2001) and Denis Gougeon's Cor et Âme (2015). He taught at McGill University and the Aspen Music Festival and School. His awards include a prize at the Grand Concours international de Cor in Liège (1981) and the Punto Award of the International Horn Society (2023).
Elvira Rafailovna Misbakhova is a Volga Tatar born Russian / Canadian violist and violinist. Misbakhova is presently Associate Principal Viola at the Orchestre Métropolitain of Montreal, Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra and the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra.
Anna Ji-eun Lee, known professionally as Anna Lee, is an American concert violinist of Korean descent. She made her professional orchestral debut at the age of 6 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Micheline Legendre was a Canadian puppeteer. She performed on television and on stage with her troupe, Les marionnettes de Montréal. Her oeuvre spanned 1,170 puppets created and more than 16,000 performances for 2.5 million audience members. Legendre was a violinist by training and her marionnette troupe played with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, for Radio-Canada and the National Film Board of Canada, among others. She was also an art historian at the Université de Montréal.
Denise Massé was a Canadian musician and recording artist. Trained as a concert pianist, she was best known for her work as a repertory pianist and an as operatic coach. Along with Janine Reiss, she was considered one of the greatest coaches of French repertoire of her era.
Calvin Robert Sieb was an American-born Canadian classical violinist who was the concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1959/1960–79) and the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse (1979–89), and also played as a soloist. He was known as a "prominent" teacher of violin, teaching at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec (1951–56), the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (1955–79) and the University of Ottawa (1989–2001). He played the Laub–Petschnikoff Stradivarius. He was a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France (1990).
