Constantinople features Kiya Tabassian, setar; Pierre-Yves Martel, viola da gamba and Didem Başar, kanun.

As musician-inventors and musician-travelers, we endlessly replay our utopias, with Babel as backdrop. The territory to explore is infinite: cultures and memories whose lines we like to shift so that they finally converge. Furthermore, we make migration and the mixing of cultures our territory. Is it perhaps our early exile that led us to return to the source, to follow the tracks of our predecessors, to tirelessly search for creative allies? Whatever it is, this awareness of belonging to several space-times is as basic to us as respiration, as inspiration.”

Drawing inspiration from the ancient trailblazing city illuminating East and West, Constantinople, founded in 1998 in Montreal, was conceived as a forum for encounters and cross-fertilization between a wide range of musical avenues: from medieval manuscripts to contemporary aesthetics, from Mediterranean Europe to the East and New World Baroque.

Constantinople is regularly invited to international festivals, where it is acclaimed by the public, music professionals and critics alike. It has performed on many of the world’s major stages, including Salle Pleyel (Paris), the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (France), the World Sacred Music Festival of Fez (Morocco), the Festival d’Île de France (Paris), the Onassis Centre (Athens), the Festival de México en el Centro Histórico (Mexico) or the Festival de Lanaudière (Quebec). Alongside its tours around the world, Constantinople presents a successful season of creations and revivals in Montreal every year.

Over the course of the decade, the ensemble has created over 35 works and traveled to nearly 120 cities in 20 countries.

*Although the provided video link does not showcase the specific musician/instrument combination that will be touring with Debut Atlantic, it provides a strong example of the flavour these artists offer. We invite you to view their YouTube page by clicking HERE.

A recent graduate of the Glenn Gould School’s Performance Diploma Program, Lucas Porter is the youngest student to ever win the school’s Concerto Competition. Other competition highlights include his recent success at the Montreal International Musical Competition where he was an audience and media favorite. The Montreal Gazette described his double octaves as being “the fastest since Horowitz, and even cleaner.”

Winner of the Canadian Music Competition in 2007 and 2010, Lucas has had the pleasure of playing Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra after winning their concerto competition in 2007. That same year, he made is orchestral debut with Symphony Nova Scotia, performing Shostakovich’s Concert No. 2.

Chosen to represent Canada at Expo 2005 in Nagoya, Japan, Lucas took part in a series of concerts along with Canadian soprano, Measha Brueggergosman. At the invitation of the Honourable Peter McKay, he played for Condoleezza Rice at the Halifax 9/11 Ceremony in September of 2006. He also performed at the 2011 Canada Winter Games which were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

As a composer, Mr. Porter has written for piano, orchestra, and film. He has won the Notions Realize Music challenge, an international composing competition sponsored by Virtuoso Works Inc., receiving first place in the 18 and under category for best Orchestral Composition. The premiere performance of his work “Port Williams Overture” was performed by the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. Other notable compositions include the score for Canadian director Navin Ramaswaran’s short film “A Fork in the Road” which premiered at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival in September of 2011.

Young Québec harpist, Valérie Milot, is constantly challenging the clichés of her instrument and has been described as a “very refined” artist by La Presse, Montréal.

Upon completion of her studies with Caroline Lizotte at the Conservatoire de musique de Trois-Rivières, Valérie was unanimously awarded the Prix avec grande distinction and the Wilfrid-Pelletier bursary. She then pursued her training in New York with world-renowned harpist Rita Costanzi.

Valérie has received numerous competition awards, including the prestigious Prix d’Europe 2008, becoming the first harpist in almost 100 years to receive this honour.

She has released six recordings with the prestigious Canadian label Analekta and is currently the Artist-In-Residence at the Conservatoire de musique de Trois-Rivières.

Violinist Antoine Bareil is a graduate of the Conservatoire de musique de Trois-Rivières where he received two Wilfrid-Pelletier Scholarships. Mr. Bareil also spent two years at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria and is a first prize winner at the Canadian Music Competition.

Antoine has worked with a number of notable artists such as Vladimir Spivakkov, Wynton Marsalis, Vadim Repine, and Mstislav Rostropovitch. He was a member of the Salzburg Chamber Soloists (Austria) from 2002 to 2006 and is a three-time guest concertmaster of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein (Germany).

Recordings to his credit include two CDs with cellist Sébastien Lépine, and three with Valérie Milot. Antoine performs on a violin Jean Baptiste Vuillaume and a François Nicolas Voirin bow, courtesy of the Canimex Foundation.

Get to know the artists through these fun videos!

Mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal – the only Canadian chosen to participate in the inaugural Salzburg Festival Young Artist Project – is an alumna of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio.  Her performances with the COC have included Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen, Aljeja in Janáček’s From the House of the Dead, Siebel in Gounod’s Faust, and Popova in Walton’s The Bear, to name a few.

Equally at home on the concert stage, her past performances include Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Nezet-Seguin and the Orchestre Métropolitan du Montréal, Handel’s Messiah with the Vancouver Bach Choir and the Grand Philharmonic Choir, Opera Galas with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the National Arts Center in Ottawa and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Windsor Symphony and the Grand Philharmonic Choir. She has also been heard in recital with the Aldeburgh Connection both in Toronto and Bayfield, FestiVoix in Trois Rivières and at the Westben Festival in Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben.

Get to know Lauren, Miriam & Julien with this interesting video!

Praised for her stage presence and her distinctive vocal tone, Lebanese-Canadian soprano Miriam Khalil is described as being “a lush lyric with spinto overtones” (Opera Canada) and “on the road to future greatness” (Classical 96.3 FM).

A former member of the prestigious Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Ms. Khalil has performed in such roles as Leah in the world premiere of James Rolfe’s Swoon, Laura in Luisa MIller, the Confidante in Elektra, and Pamina in The Magic Flute. She is a graduate of The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, holding an Artist Diploma in Voice and a Bachelor’s Degree in vocal performance from the University of Ottawa. In 2007 she won First place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions for the Great Lakes Region. She is a recent member of both The Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia and the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme.

Get to know Miriam, Lauren & Julien through this interesting video!

Acadian pianist Julien LeBlanc is a well sought-after soloist, chamber player and accompanist. Currently living in Montreal, audiences from coast to coast have been able to enjoy hearing him perform with different formations as well as in solo recitals. In 2002, Julien was awarded the Prize for Emerging Artist of the Year by the New Brunswick Foundation for the Arts. Since his debut solo recital at the National Art Centre in 2003, he has toured for Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada with violinist Marc Djokic.

Julien is co-artistic director of l’Été Musical de l’Église de Barachois a summer concert series where he has performed many times over the years. He has also recently appeared as a guest pianist and collaborative artist at several Canadian music festivals including the Indian River Festival, the Elora Festival, Music and Beyond in Ottawa. Mr. LeBlanc has a passion for art-song and can frequently be heard in song recitals with Canadian singers including soprano Nathalie Paulin, baritone Peter McGillivray and soprano Miriam Khalil.

Julien LeBlanc holds a post-graduate Diploma in Accompaniment from the Royal Academy of Music (London, UK) where he studied with pianist Malcolm Martineau, a Doctorate in piano performance from Université de Montréal under Paul Stewart and Marc Durand as well as an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School (Toronto, ON).

Get to know Julien, Miriam & Lauren through this interesting video!

Trio Lajoie features three friends — violinist Ariane Lajoie, cellist Julie Hereish and pianist Akiko Tominaga — with a shared passion for chamber music.

Since 2008, the young piano trio has performed in many venues across the country. In 2011, they were invited to perform in High River, Alberta and also completed a Banff Centre residency under Anton Kuerti and Henk Guittart. A mainstay of the Quebec music scene, Trio Lajoie has performed in Sainte-Pétronille, Pointe-Claire, Gatineau, Hudson, Joliette, Prévost, Quebec City, and at the Orford Arts Centre. In Montreal, the trio has appeared at the Maison de la culture Frontenac and in the Pro Musica series, Les Mélodînes, at the Place des Arts. In 2010, they received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. In addition, their debut recording, Mozart & Mendelssohn, was nominated for the 2012-2013 Prix Opus in the romantic disc category.

« La formation a ouvert avec un Mozart généralement affirmé, bien rythmé, ample et brillant. L’exécution du premier mouvement est apparue vivante, nette, comme en pleine lumière. (The group opened with a Mozart that was generously affirmed, rhythmic, ample and brilliant. The execution of the first movement appeared lively, clear, as in full light) » (Richard Boisvert, Le Soleil, August 7, 2009)

Ariane Lajoie (violin) completed her undergraduate studies under Jean-François Rivest before obtaining her doctorate from the Université de Montréal under Vladimir Landsman. She also studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum Sommerakademie, Holland Music Sessions and Moscow Conservatory with such masters as Igor Oistrakh. Ariane has since performed as a chamber musician in Bergen (Holland), Ottawa, Toronto and Potsdam (New York).

Julie Hereish (cello) studied with Denis Brott at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, with Johanne Perron and Carole Sirois at the Université de Montréal, as well as with Stefan Kropfitsch at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (Vienna, Austria). An active chamber musician, she formed the Duo Arietis, with whom she went on the tour Grand Public with the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada in the Fall of 2013.

Akiko Tominaga (piano) is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and the Université de Montréal, where she obtained a doctorate under Marc Durand. She has performed as a soloist with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Young Artist Philharmonic and the Reading Symphony as well as at the Lincoln Center with the Interschool Orchestra of New York. She teaches at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary.

Get to know the artists through these fun videos!