STRADIVARIUS BaROCK

A concert where classical, jazz, boogie and pop will coexist harmoniously!

Alexandre Da Costa, violinist

Canadian violin virtuoso Alexandre Da Costa is on a mission – to bring classical music to the public.

“When I play, my instrument becomes the extension of my soul”

Sony Classical artist, Juno Award winner and Longueuil Symphony’s Music Director and Chief Conductor, Alexandre Da Costa was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He showed an uncommon interest for both the violin and piano at a very early age. By the age of nine, he had the astonishing ability to perform his first concerts with stunning virtuosity on both instruments, which brought him recognition as a musical prodigy. His chosen professional career as a violinist began very early and, after encouragement from Charles Dutoit, he was soon performing regularly as soloist with orchestra as well as in recital.

At age 18, he obtained a Master’s Degree in violin and a First Prize from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. Concurrently, he also obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Interpretation from the University of Montreal. Subsequently, told he had to choose one instrument, he studied in Madrid at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia with a legendary violin teacher who became his mentor, Zakhar Bron (whose previous students famously include the likes of Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin). He later pursued post-graduate studies at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst of Vienna, Austria, with G. Schulz, C. Altenburger and R. Honeck, and is currently completing a research PhD. Among the many other prizes that followed were the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award from the Canada Council for the Arts, and in 2003 the Council’s Musical Instrument Bank decided to go further and award him the “1689 Baumgartner Stradivarius”. In 2010, he received the prestigious Virginia-Parker Prize, one of Canada’s highest cultural distinctions.

In addition to his soloist and conducting activities, Alexandre Da Costa gives masterclasses at various universities and conservatories around the world. Between 2014 and 2018 held the position of Associate Professor and Head of Strings at the Edith Cowan University (Australia). Institutions he visited include the Sydney Conservatorium, the University of Toronto and the Superior Conservatories of Montreal, Madrid and Shanghai. He also served as benchmarking consultant for the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and guest speaker for TEDx. As Concertmaster, he regularly leads orchestras such as the Wiener Symphoniker, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Singapore Symphony, under conductors such as Philippe Jordan, Tugan Sokhiev, Günter Herbig and Lorin Maazel. He currently holds the position of Artistic Director of the Laurentians International Festival of Canada and Artistic Director at Acacia Classics Productions. Alexandre Da Costa plays the “Deveault” Stradivarius of 1701 loaned by his friends Guy and Maryse Deveault.

Artists joining Alexandre Da Costa:
Musicians from the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra
Solange Bouchard, violin
Ariane Bresse, violin
Elisa Boudreau, viola
Thérèse Ryan, cello

and

John Roney, piano
Éric Lagacé, bass
William Régnier, drums

Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 8:00pm
To purchase your tickets visit: www.placedesarts.com