Orchestre symphonique de Québec

Orchestre symphonique de Québec

Orchestre symphonique de Québec was founded in 1902 as the Société symphonique de Québec. The oldest active Canadian orchestra, its first concert took place on 28 November 1902 in Tara Hall under the direction of Joseph VÉZINA. The society experienced considerable financial and recruitment difficulties from 1935 to 1942, largely because of competition from the Cercle philharmonique de Québec (incorporated 1936). The 2 groups merged in 1942, assuming the name Orchestre symphonique de Québec.

Led by Yoav Talmi since 1998, the 66-member orchestra has become one of the most active musical groups in the Québec region. A regular season for the OSQ features more than 40 concerts and attracts over 100 000 people. It offers six concert series including the Grands Concerts, Sélection Desjardins, Classiques à Croquer, Week-ends électrisants Hydro-Québec, Les Concerts Famille Industrielle-Alliance, and Hommage, all of which are held at the Grand Théâtre de Québec. Other OSQ activities have involved collaborations with Opera du Québec and les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

Canadian works commissioned and performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec have included Roger MATTON's Mouvement symphoniques and his Te Deum, Ouranos by Serge GARANT, Concerto for piano and orchestra by Jacques Hétu, Chorégraphie II by André PRÉVOST and Le Cactus rieur et la demoiselle qui souffrait d'une soif insatiable by Denys BOULIANE.

The orchestra has featured world-renowned performing artists such as Pierre Monteux, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Franz-Paul Decker, Renata Scotto, Charles Dutoit, Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida, Françoise Pollet, Yo-Yo Ma, André Laplante, Louis LORTIE and Cecilia Bartoli.

The OSQ performs in diverse locations during the summer months, including the Festival d'été de Québec, the Festival International de Lanaudière, and the Festival du Domaine Forget de Charlevoix. In addition to radio and television broadcasts, the OSQ has made 15 recordings have been made since 1977.

The OSQ received an award from the Performing Rights Organization of Canada for giving a prominent place to contemporary works in its programs (1978). It has also received an Opus Prize (1999-2000 season) for the family concert Planète Baobab, and two Felix Award for Best Classical Album of the Year - one for the Analekta recording entitled Noël and one for the CD entitled Concert Français, (2002) featuring the violinist James Ehnes.

In 2002, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec launched its first Canadian Concerto Competition. The year 2002 also marked the centennial anniversary for the OSQ.