Media Release

One of Quebec’s foremost cultural ambassadors, Bernard Labadie is the founder and director of the orchestra Les Violons du Roy and the chamber choir La Chapelle de Québec. A member of the Order of Canada, a Knight of the Order of Quebec, and winner of two Juno Awards, this month Labadie adds another honour to his list of accomplishments. The Banff Centre has named him the latest recipient of the National Arts Award.

“The Banff Centre is very pleased to recognize Bernard Labadie’s immense contribution to the arts in Canada,” says Sarah Iley, the Centre’s vice president, programming. “The National Arts Award celebrates his leadership of one of this country’s most important chamber ensembles, but also his remarkable influence on the preservation and development of classical music repertoire.”

Under Labadie’s direction, Les Violons du Roy has become a pillar of the Quebec City music scene, taking their modern interpretations of 17th and 18th century compositions across Canada through annual touring and recordings on both the French and English networks of the CBC. The orchestra has recorded 12 CDs and has made over 100 concert appearances in countries including France, Germany, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Spain, and the United States.

As a guest conductor, Labadie has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and many others. He is also in demand in the world of opera. He was formerly artistic director of L’Opéra du Québec, and of L’Opéra du Montréal, and has been guest conductor of the Glimmerglass Opera and the Santa Fe Opera. With a full schedule of upcoming concerts, Labadie will soon debut with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Opera.

“This is a great honour for me, but it also recognizes the hard work and dedication of all the wonderful artists I work with in Les Violons du Roy, and La Chapelle du Québec,” Labadie said, on accepting the award at The Banff Centre. “After all, normally the conductor is the only silent person on stage.”

The National Arts Award originated in 1951 as the University of Alberta National Arts Awards, and continued as an award of The Banff Centre beginning in 1980. Recipients of this distinguished prize read like a who’s who of the top artists in Canada in visual, literary, and performing arts. Past honourees include Margaret Atwood, Zacharias Kunuk, Timothy Findley, Denys Arcand, Douglas Cardinal, Robertson Davies, R. Murray Schafer, A.Y Jackson, Maureen Forrester, and Anton Kuerti.

Today, the National Arts Award consists of a $5,000 cash prize and a two-week creative residency at The Banff Centre’s Leighton Artists’ Colony. The award rotates each year between literary arts (including playwriting), media and visual arts, theatre or dance, music or opera, and Aboriginal arts. It recognizes significant contributions to the development of the arts in Canada, with an emphasis on artists who have dedicated a portion of their careers to the development of the next generation of artists.

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