A Musical Journey from Vienna to the Far North

Conductor Dina Gilbert has received critical acclaim for her energy, presence on the podium, and the breadth of her repertoire. Currently Principal Conductor of the Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and Music Director of the Kamloops Symphony, she is well known for her dynamic personality and audacious programming.

A frequent guest conductor of leading Canadian orchestras, Dina has also conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the national orchestras of Lyon, Pays de la Loire, and Metz, as well as on tour in Japan with the Sinfonia Varsovia. She has conducted several Hip-Hop Symphonic programs in France featuring renowned artists such as IAM, MC Solaar, and Bigflo & Oli.

Dina has reached thousands of children in Canada with her interactive Conducting 101 workshops and is a musical collaborator on the Radio-Canada program Il restera toujours la culture. Awarded the 2017 Opus Prize for “Discovery of the Year,” Dina Gilbert served as Assistant Conductor of the OSM from 2013 to 2016.

Evie Mark is a throat singer, seamstress and filmmaker from Ivujivik, Nunavik who currently resides in Montreal. Raised by her grandparents, who taught her about her cultural heritage and throat singing; Mark first started learning the practice at age 11, from her Inuktitut language teacher.

Mark has toured nationally and internationally as a performer, notably with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s (OSM) production Tusarnituuq! Nagano In The Land Of The Inuit (2009). Another notable performance was at a ceremony held at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal in which throat singing was recognized as a form of intangible heritage under the Cultural Heritage Act.

In addition to her music career, Evie Mark has a background in television production, filmography and journalism. She received a creative arts degree from John Abbott College in Montreal, QC in 1996 and continued her studies at the Banff Centre, AB. In 2007 Mark directed the documentary Ullumi (Today).

Mark is an active teacher and cultural liaison. She has helped to lead youth cultural programs in the Torngat Mountains, NL and at Aqpik Jam in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. She currently teaches Inuktitut and Arts at Nunavik Sivunitsavut in Montreal, QC and continues to travel for her throat singing performances.

Akinisie Sivuarapik is a throat-singing (katajjaniq) artist from Puvirnituq, Nunavik. Growing up in her community, she was always drawn to this art, which she learned from her grandmother Mary Sivuarapik. “There are more girls than boys in my family, so throat singing was how we came together and had fun with my grandmother. I love throat singing, because my grandmother taught me it was something to cherish.” Her mastery of the ancestral art has led to performances around the world, including in Corsica, Germany, Norway, France, Greenland, Belgium, and Austria. In 2018, she was part of the show Chaakapesh, the Trickster’s Quest with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal before heading north to six Indigenous communities. In addition to her stage career, Akinisie Sivuarapik teaches throat singing to youth in Nunavik and Nunavut.

Marianne Dugal played in the first-violin section of the OSM for over a decade before being named Second Associate Concertmaster in 2008. She was also a soloist with the Orchestra, under Charles Dutoit and Kent Nagano. In 2008, she participated in a historic tour of Nunavik with six of her colleagues and Maestro Nagano; she was also on the tour in 2018. She is very active as a chamber player throughout Quebec, Canada and the United States. She studied under Sergiu Schwartz at the Harid Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida, where she won First Prize in the National Society of Arts and Letters’ Violin Competition. Marianne Dugal has the great privilege of playing a violin made by Stradivarius in 1716 with a Sartory bow, both generously on loan from Canimex.

Principal trumpet with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 1995, he has been featured frequently with the OSM, including tours to South America and at the Lincoln Center in New York.Paul has been featured with orchestras worldwide, including English Chamber Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Venice Baroque Orchestra and Eastman Wind Ensemble. Merkelo’s first solo recording, A Simple Song was ranked #1 in Quebec’s classical recording chart in 2000. In 2004, Analekta released a highly praised second CD, Baroque Transcriptions, which was nominated by ADISQ for Best Classical Album of the Year. French Trumpet Concertos with OSM and Kent Nagano was nominated by the JUNO Awards in 2016. He is the founder of the Paul Merkelo Scholarship.

Mathieu Harel has served as the associate principal bassoon with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 1998. After completing his studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, he furthered his training at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the mentorship of Bernard Garfield.

Previously, he held positions with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago. Since 2004, he has been teaching at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. He has also taught at McGill University, Domaine Forget, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Recognized as one of the finest bassoonists of his generation, Mathieu Harel has performed as a soloist with several orchestras across Canada. His elegant playing and warm personality make him a sought-after chamber musician.

James Box caught the music bug watching military bands in his childhood. His grandfather, who conducted a brass band, was his first teacher. At the age of 15, James joined the Memphis Youth Symphony and went on to study at the Southern Methodist University and the Cleveland Institute of Music with Marta Hofacre, John Kitzman, James DeSano, and Steve Witser. His first concert with the OSM comprised a performance of Ravel’s Bolero, in which he held down the famous trombone solo part. In addition to his performance career, James Box teaches trombone at McGill University.

A native of Montreal, Serge Desgagnés has held the Principal Percussion chair of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 1997, having collaborated with the OSM as early as 1982. A first prize winner in percussion and solfeggio at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, he also studied in New York with marimba master Leigh Howard Stevens. He initially performed with different ensembles in the Montreal area, including the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, with whom he appeared as soloist, as well as several chamber music groups. Before joining the OSM, he occupied the Principal Percussion position with the Orchestre Métropolitain. He has also taught percussion at the Faculté de Musique de l’Université de Montréal.