Bernard Labadie (born March 27, 1963) is a Canadian conductor.

Biography

Labadie was born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, Canada. He graduated from the School of Music at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

. During Labadie's education at

in 1983, Labadie directed his first orchestras as a student project. He studied Gregorian chant with Dom Jean Claire at the Saint-Pierre de

Solesmes Abbey Solesmes Abbey or St. Peter's Abbey, Solesmes () is a Benedictine monastery in Solesmes, Sarthe, France, and the source of the restoration of Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastic life in the country under Dom Prosper Guéranger after the ...

in France and conducted privately with Simon Streatfeild (1983–87),

Pierre Dervaux Pierre Dervaux (born 3 January 1917 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France; died 20 February 1992 in Marseilles, France) was a French operatic conductor (music), conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and ha ...

at the Domaine Forget (1986, 1987), in

Saumur, France Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur sta ...

(1987), and briefly at the Bachakademie in

Stuttgart, Germany Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

with

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

(1991). After Labadie graduated from

, he founded the ensembles Les Violons du Roy in 1984 and the choir La Chapelle de Québec (under the original name ''l'Ensemble vocal Bernard Labadie'') in 1985. Labadie subsequently served as music director of Les Violons du Roy from its creation in 1985 through 2014. Labade has been music director of La Chapelle de Québec from its 1985 inception. He directed the Québec premiere of Monteverdi's ''

L'Incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

'' in 1984. In 1987-1988, Labadie was an apprentice conductor with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. In 1989, he was appointed as the choral director of the Orchestra Symphonique de Québec, and held the post through 1995. Labadie was artistic director of the

Opéra de Québec Opéra de Québec () or Opera of Quebec City is a Canadian opera company founded in 1983; it is related to Opéra de Montréal, founded in 1980. The company does not have its own venue but performs in the Grand Théâtre de Québec on 269 Boule ...

from 1994 to 2003, and served as artistic director for the

Opéra de Montréal LOpéra de Montréal () is an opera company in Montreal, Canada. It performs at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980 as a company focused on productions in French. Hi ...

from 2002 to 2006. He made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

debut during the 2009–2010 season with Mozart's ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', a work he also led at the Cincinnati Opera in 2011. He made his conducting debut with the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

in 2017. In 2014, Labadie was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma. His subsequent medical treatment included a medically induced coma for one month. In May 2017, the Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) announced the appointment of Labadie as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season. The appointment was unusual in that Labadie had not conducted the OSL prior to his appointment. His conducting debut with the orchestra was in July 2017. In March 2022, the orchestra announced the extension of Labadie's contract as principal conductor through the 2024-2025 season. In February 2024, OSL announced that Labadie is to stand down as its principal conductor at the close of the 2024-2025 season.

Selected discography

* Mozart: Flute Concerto: Flute and Harp Concerto; Andante in C (1989) * Pergolesi: ''Stabat Mater''; Vivaldi: Motet "In furore guistissimae irae"; Stabat Mater (1994) * Bach: Secular Cantatas (1994) * Music of Bach's Sons (1996) * Bach: ''Goldberg Variations'' (2000) * Bach: ''Art of the Fugue'' (2001)

Honours and awards

* Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Young Musician Award (1987) *

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

(2005) * Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Québec (2006) *

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

award (2016)

References

External links

Askonas Holt agency page on Bernard Labadie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labadie, Bernard 1963 births Living people Canadian conductors (music) Musicians from Quebec City Knights of the National Order of Quebec