Tell Me Your Music, with Dina Gilbert Summer 2025
In conversation with Oscar Salazar Varela, our Associate Conductor Dina Gilbert will tell us about her career, her sources of inspiration, the works on the program she will conduct in-hall, and about her forthcoming collaboration with the OSM. A great opportunity to learn about the everyday world and profession of a Québec artist!
Artists
Oscar Salazar Varela, librarian in the Music and Film section of the Grande Bibliothèque of the BAnQ, host
Dina Gilbert, OSM Associate Conductor
Oscar Salazar Varela
guitaristOscar Salazar Varela is a guitarist, composer, and librarian of Mexican origin. Active in both classical and popular music spheres, he has released several albums, including Dos Vihuelas (2017), Les cinq temps (Projet Corde Sud, 2015), and De Canaima al Cobre (2009). He is also the author of original works and educational materials for guitar.
His training has enabled him to develop versatile musical expertise. He holds graduate degrees in film music, performance, instrumental didactics, and information science. He also pursued doctoral studies in music education. In 2017, he conducted a study on music in public libraries under the supervision of Audrey Laplante.
With nearly 20 years of teaching experience — notably at the Vincent-d’Indy School of Music — he has also contributed to the development of the musical instrument collection at the Montreal Libraries and to the creation of musical activities. He is currently the librarian in charge of the Pavillon, the musical space at the Grande Bibliothèque at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), where he highlights musical collections and shares his discoveries with the public.
Dina Gilbert
ConductorConductor 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.
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