Arion Orchestre Baroque & Mathieu Lussier
Biography Arion Orchestre Baroque & Mathieu Lussier
Mathieu Lussier
Artistic Director of Arion Baroque Orchestra since June 2019, Mathieu Lussier has energetically and passionately promoted the modern and baroque bassoon as solo instruments for more than two decades throughout North America, South America, and Europe. He also devotes considerable time to chamber music as a member of ensemble Pentaèdre de Montréal, and is Professor and Vice-Dean at the Music Faculty of the Université de Montréal. Since August 2022, he has also served as the Artistic Director of Domaine Forget de Charlevoix.
Previous appointments include Associate Conductor of Les Violons du Roy from 2012 to 2018, where Lussier led the orchestra in over 100 concerts in Quebec and on tour in greater Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, collaborating with artists such as Marc-André Hamelin, Philippe Jarrousky, Alexandre Tharaud, Jeremy Denk, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Julia Lezhneva, Anthony Marwood, and Karina Gauvin. From 2008 to 2014 he served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival, and has also conducted many other Canadian ensembles such as the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, I Musici de Montréal, Symphony Nova Scotia (Halifax), the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Drummondville and Sherbrooke Symphonies.
His numerous solo recordings include over a dozen bassoon concertos (Mozart, Vivaldi, Fasch, Graupner, Telemann, and Corrette), a CD of bassoon sonatas by Boismortier, three CDs of music for solo bassoon by François Devienne, two CDs of wind music by Gossec and Méhul, and a CD devoted entirely to the music of Eugène Jancourt.
Arion Orchestre Baroque
A cornerstone of Montréal’s music scene for over forty years, Arion Baroque Orchestra is a pioneer in Quebec and Canada in the world of early music on period instruments. Under the artistic direction of conductor and bassoonist Mathieu Lussier since 2019, Arion presents a series of concerts featuring internationally renowned guest conductors and soloists.
Founded in Montréal in 1981 by Claire Guimond, Chantal Rémillard, Betsy MacMillan, and Hank Knox, Arion has performed in Quebec, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia, and Europe. The clarity and freshness of Arion’s interpretations of baroque and classical works are supported by a discography of more than thirty titles, have received numerous awards, and widespread critical acclaim.
Committed to the creation and dissemination of youth and educational projects, and a partner of renowned institutions such as the Université de Montréal, McGill University, the Arte Musica Foundation, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, and the SAMS, Arion is a unique and vital contributor to the Canadian musical scene.
