Concerts aux Îles du Bic

A colorful opening concert featuring soprano Myriam Leblanc and the Ensemble Mirabilia (Grégoire Jeay on flutes, Antoine Malette-Chénier on baroque harp and Mélisande Corriveau on baroque cello). They will perform vocal and instrumental works by Antonio Vivaldi.

The co-founders of the festival, Élise Lavoie on violin and James Darling on cello, join pianist Maurice Laforest for this concert about the famous Viennese brother and sister. The audience will be welcomed on stage and around the piano to experience and discuss with the musicians as if we were in the Mendelssohn family. Buns and coffee are included in the musical menu for the first to arrive… as long as there are some.

The amazing trombone quintet iTromboni performs original and arranged works by great classical and modern composers with panache, sensitivity and complicity. Their members, from all over Canada, are five virtuoso musicians who travel to share their music. They break down stereotypes about trombones and their place in harmony with a vibrant enthusiasm.

We are delighted to welcome Cameron Crozman, young cellist prodigy, with Meagan Milatz, piano. We will hear them in a most flamboyant duo recital of Brahms’ masterpiece (his Second Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 99) and Fazil Say’s highly virtuosic “Four Cities” sonata.

Discover the secrets of mastering singing and accompanying with Kerry Bursey. This tenor, guitarist, and lutenist is known for his versatility and knowledge of early music and folk repertoire. In this master class, open to the general public, he will coach vocal and guitar students, engage the audience and pass on an exciting background.

The iTromboni trombone quintet is taking to the city for a concert in an iconic venue. On the banks of the river, the unique atmosphere of the Distillery will give you a taste of original and arranged works by great classical and modern composers. Their members, from across Canada, are five virtuoso musicians who travel to share their music.

If the Distillery is closed, we will move the concert to the place du 6 mai 1950.

The artist residencies end with a fireworks display featuring several ephemeral ensembles with Mathieu Gaudet, Myriam Leblanc, Cameron Crozman, Mégan Milatz, Étienne Chénard, Élise Lavoie and James Darling performing works by Rachmaninoff, Medtner, Arensky, Brahms and Schubert. Recorded by Radio-Canada.

Let yourself be transported into the world of birds! You know the birds here, but do you know their habits? their lifestyles? our impact on their environments and their daily lives? With great classical music by the young pianist Jules-Alex Banville and the words of an experienced ornithologist, this concert will satisfy your curiosity and that of all your brood.

With Concerts aux Îles du Bic, let yourself be transported into the world of birds! You know the birds here, but do you know their habits? their lifestyles? our impact on their environments and their daily lives? With great classical music by the young pianist Jules-Alex Banville and the words of an experienced ornithologist, this concert will satisfy your curiosity and that of all your brood.

The Concerts aux Îles du Bic marks the beginning of its 23rd season with the return of the extraordinary David Jalbert for an opening concert in the late afternoon. Sergei Prokofiev’s sumptuous Sonata for cello and piano and the rarely heard Suite for piano left hand and strings by Erich Korngold surrounding a solo piano creation by Ontario composer Frank Horvat. During his trip along the river and at the festival last summer, the composer was inspired by our iconic Saint-Laurent River to write this work, which will be performed in its premiere. A flagship concert of the festival!

An elegant and warm virtuoso with an eclectic repertoire, David Jalbert has carved out a place for himself among the pianists of his generation. Named by the CBC as one of the 15 best Canadian pianists of all time, he regularly performs with orchestra or recital around the world.

A poetic and committed show, Vagues et ombres presents original arrangements of pieces by Claude Debussy (including the iconic La Mer), the play Contact by Luna Pearl Woolf, a sound evocation of the underwater world of belugas in the estuary of the Saint-Lawrence RiverLaurent, and Sea Change by Tom Morrison who expresses anxiety about the climate crisis. All wrapped in a delicate shadow decor designed by Mere Phantoms. The program’s album was a Juno Award finalist in 2023.

The nine musicians of collectif9 perform, with the power of an orchestra and the agility of a chamber music ensemble, classical music through an innovative approach offering great evocative power to the audience. This multidisciplinary project with Chinese shadows will once again celebrate our special relationship with the St. Lawrence River.

Let yourself be transported into the world of birds! You know the birds here, but do you know their habits? their lifestyles? our impact on their environments and their daily lives? With great classical music by the young pianist Jules-Alex Banville and the words of an experienced ornithologist, this concert will satisfy your curiosity and that of all your brood.

With this master class open to the public, up-and-coming young pianists from the region are invited to perfect themselves with an elegant and warm virtuoso named by CBC as one of the 15 best Canadian pianists of all time. A unique opportunity! Attend this event and discover the secrets of mastering the instrument.

Let yourself be transported into the world of birds! You know the birds here, but do you know their habits? their lifestyles? our impact on their environments and their daily lives? With great classical music by the young pianist Jules-Alex Banville and the words of an experienced ornithologist, this concert will satisfy your curiosity and that of all your brood.

Mains fines, cœurs forts is a splendid trio concert bringing together artists in residence around romantic composers Clara Schumann and sisters Boulanger, with Ravel and Debussy not too far! Violinist Daphné Bourbonnais, newly appointed concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire, joins pianist Michel-Alexandre Broekaert and cellist Dominique Beauséjour-Ostiguy for this virtuoso celebration.

Come and discover remarkable composers and women in the company of a quartet of dazzling young women: the pure soprano Ariadne Lih, Anne Thivierge on the baroque flute, Mylène Bélanger on the harpsichord and Andrea Stewart on the cello. They will transmit to us the great richness and expressiveness of another era through the compositions of Elisabeth Jacquet of La Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, and others. Not to be missed!

Let yourself be transported into the world of birds! You know the birds here, but do you know their habits? their lifestyles? our impact on their environments and their daily lives? With great classical music by the young pianist Jules-Alex Banville and the words of an experienced ornithologist, this concert will satisfy your curiosity and that of all your brood.

An ephemeral ensemble of seven musicians in residence will perform the striking work of Claude Vivier. Then, the percussion duo T.J.J.H. takes us on the Rebord Project where their compositions using prepared vibraphones explore minimalist terrains, between precision and shift.

Tom Jacques and Jonathan Huard, percussion • Philippe Gagné, piano • David Thies-Thompson, viola • Julie Trudeau, cello • Thibault Berthin-Maghit, double bass • Dan Tremblay, trumpet

Concerts aux Îles du Bic is pleased to welcome an «all-star» string trio: Julie Triquet on violin, David Thies-Thompson on viola and Julie Trudeau on cello. They will amaze you with their brilliance, their passion and their complicity. Through works by Mozart, Francaix and Enesco, they will also present the famous duo of Maurice Ravel and the magnificent Serenade of Ernst von Dohnányi. An intimate concert to enjoy, then to improve with a walk on the river in Saint-Fabien-sur-Mer.

Hommage à Gabriel Fauré will end the festival with a lyrical and musical tribute marking the centenary of the death of Gabriel Fauré. With the sublime voice of soprano Sophie Naubert and four exceptional musicians: pianist Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, violinist Julie Triquet, violist David Thies-Thompson and cellist Julie Trudeau.

Sophie Naubert is a young coloratura lyrical soprano with great agility and flexibility in her voice. She made her debut in 2021 as a soloist with the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Cottbus Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin and Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal. She participated in the recording of Massenet’s complete melodies for classical ATMA. For the 2022-23 season, she was artist in residence at the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal.

To open the 2025 season, Concerts aux Îles du Bic offer you as a gift the tango music written by the great Quebec bandoneonist Denis Plante, who was inspired by Bach’s suites for cello. He presents this passionate music with his long-time accomplice, the virtuoso cellist Stéphane Tétreault.

Yohann St-Pierre, major donor of the evening

Émile Quimper-Bouchard is one of the finest talents from the Bas-Saint-Laurent region in recent years. Long-time student of James Darling, he combines a great technical mastery and an amazing sensitivity. He presents a superb program with the young pianist Jules-Alex Banville, who has also been promoted to a great career.

Works by Bach, Haydn, Mel Bonis and others

Partner: City of Rimouski

The relationship triangle between Robert Schumann, his wife Clara and the young Johannes Brahms, woven of mutual admiration and love, marked the history of music. We invite you to an evening by the fireplace in the Schumann’s living room, where everyone expresses their feelings through music that draws on the roots of romanticism and the legacy of Beethoven, their spiritual father.

With: Mathieu Gaudet, piano • Élise Lavoie, violin • Stéphane Tétreault, cello
Works by Clara and Robert Schumann, Beethoven and Brahms

Suzanne Ross, Big Donor of the Evening

The young quartet Myriade was recently in residence at McGill International String Quartet Academy. He shows us the full extent of his art in great quartets by Dvořák and Ravel.

Works by Dvořák, Roukens and Ravel

Partner: Tourisme Bas-Saint-Laurent

This program around the music of the film «Tous les matins du monde» offers magnificent works for the viola da gamba by Marin Marais that mingle with the superb court tunes of Michel Lambert and Marc-Antoine Charpentier. A program of finesse, music worthy of a great king.

Claudio Monteverdi is considered by many to be the first composer and founder of the Baroque style and, by extension, of the Western tonal system which will reign for 300 years. The Harmony of the Seasons interprets one of his greatest works, Vespers to the Virgin, with a group of 25 singers and musicians in the majestic Rimouski Cathedral. A unique and spectacular event.

Built around Philip Glass’s piano quintet, a 2018 work, this gala concert offers an overview of the evolution of music in the United States during the last century. From the complex counterpoint of Copland, we pass through the bursting of Eastman’s form and the intimate refinement of Caroline Shaw to arrive at the great master Philip Glass. It is also a great opportunity for our nine musicians in residence to come together for a moment of sharing and friendship.

Partner: Hydro-Québec