Pérusse Symphonic : from the Snack Bar to the OSM 2025-2026
Will you see François the comedian? Will you hear François the singer, Pérusse the musician? You definitely won’t want to miss this epic encounter!
From the first Album du Peuple, which celebrates its 35th anniversary, to today, his immense, rich and humorous work in a symphonic version will certainly leave a lasting impression. Under the direction of conductor Simon Rivard and with symphonic arrangements by Hugo Bégin, François will deliver several famous excerpts from his imposing repertoire, surrounded by surprise guests for the occasion.
Don’t miss it!
Artists
Simon Rivard, conductor
François Pérusse
Hugo Bégin, orchestrations
Julien Corriveau, Director
Marie-Pier Girard, Assistant Director
François Pérusse
comedian and musicianThe career of comedian, author, audio montage creator and musician François Pérusse resembles that of a constantly evolving athlete, racking up record after record. Hidden behind his imposing body of work, he creates tirelessly, and his unbridled imagination is still as astonishing after 34 years. Far from hanging up his skates, Pérusse prefers to add to his already impressive record. To date, his work includes more than 4,000 Les 2 minutes du peuple radio vignettes, 16 albums, a DVD, 136 radio and TV commercials, the TV series Le Spécial du peuple, La Série du peuple, Le JourNul, On s’écoute parler, Pérusse Cité, La tite chambre and the humorous audio clips for Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas.
He has also won a plethora of awards, including 11 Félix, 7 Olivier, 1 Juno, 5 Gémeaux, 13 advertising awards (including the Mondial d’Or and the ACCT Grand Prix in Marrakech), 3 awards for the script of the animated short Cortex Academy and 7 Ruban d’or (Canadian Association of Broadcasters). François Pérusse’s generosity has been crowned by the incredible enthusiasm of an audience that has been loyal to him since his debut.
Hugo Bégin
Hugo Bégin has achieved equal mastery of the trombone, sackbut, piano, and organ. A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, he studied trombone with Joseph Zuskin and the renowned Alain Trudel, and organ with Mireille and Bernard Lagacé. He has worked as a freelance trombonist with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Les Violons du Roy, and I Musici de Montréal, among many other ensembles throughout Quebec. Bégin’s interest in composing and arranging music has been present from youth. He works as a composer, arranger and copyist with several orchestras and individuals, and has recently been commissioned to write arrangements for the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and I Musici, to name only those, as well as compositions for the Ensemble Horizon, the Quatuor de trombones de Montréal and the Orchestre régional d’Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Simon Rivard
ConductorSimon Rivard is the music director of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and the Edmonton Opera.
Next season, he leads Haydn’s Creation at the NSO, as well as Cusson & Vavrek’s Indians on Vacation (world premiere) and Wagner’s Siegfried at the Edmonton Opera. He makes his début with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra and collaborates with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Orchestre Métropolitain, among others. He is the Principal Conductor of The Happenstancers, one of Toronto’s leading new music ensembles.
Rivard has conducted Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Opéra de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (Switzerland), and the Göteborgs Symfoniker (Sweden). From 2018 to 2022, he was the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he was mentored by Gustavo Gimeno and Sir Andrew Davis, and through 2024, he was the Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Born in Montréal, Rivard studied violin and orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and McGill University.
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