Vivaldi and Handel – December 15 to January 5 LiveEvents December 11, 2020 1394 Maison symphonique de Montréal presents The OSM Celebrates the Holidays with Vivaldi and Handel, Under the Direction of Bernard Labadie The OSM invites you to celebrate a glorious holiday season with works by two Baroque masters, performed by splendid vocal soloists and the OSM Chorus and musicians led by Quebec conductor Bernard Labadie. Share in the exuberant joy of Vivaldi’s famous Gloria and be transported by the excitement of the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah! Artists Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Bernard Labadie Photo: Dario Acosta Bernard Labadie, conductor Bernard Labadie has established himself worldwide as one of the preeminent conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire, a reputation closely tied to his work with Les Violons du Roy (for which he served as Music Director from its inception until 2014) and La Chapelle de Québec. With these two ensembles he has regularly toured Canada, the US and Europe, in major venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, The Barbican, The Concertgebouw, and the Salzburg Festival, among others. He began a four-year term as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in the 2018–2019 season. Bernard Labadie has received Paris’ Samuel de Champlain Award, the Canadian government’s Officer of the Order of Canada, and his home province made him Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec. Anna-Sophie Neher, soprano (Vivaldi, Handel) Canadian german soprano Anna-Sophie Neher received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Montreal Conservatory. After studying a year in New York under the tutelage of Sanford Sylvan and Dawn Upshaw, she completed her master’s degree in 2018 at McGill University where she worked with Dominique Labelle. During her years of study, Anna-Sophie stood out in several competitions and received many grants, including one from the Sylva Gelber Foundation (2018) and the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation (2016-2018). In 2017, she won 1st place in the OSM Competition and the prestigious McGill University Wirth Prize. She also participated in the Montreal International Competition and the Salzburg International Mozartwettbewerb. Stéphanie Manias, soprano II (Vivaldi) Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano (Vivaldi, Handel) French-Canadian Julie Boulianne has been acclaimed for the agility and expressive power of her dark-hued mezzo-soprano in a wide repertoire, focusing especially on the works of Berlioz, Mozart, and Rossini. The Independent recently said of her, “Julie Boulianne’s Marguerite is gloriously sung, her sound replete with grace and power.” Orchestral engagements include Vivaldi’s Gloria and select concert arias for her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire at the Berlin Philharmonic with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Mozart’s Requiem with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and Les Nuits d’Eté with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. OSM Chorus Program Vivaldi, Gloria in D major, RV 589 (28 min.) Handel, Messiah, HWV 56, excerpts (34 min.) Webcast starts Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 7pm and remains available until January 5, 2021 To purchase your online ticket visit: www.osm.ca/en/all-concerts/