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Mélanie Léonard, Associate Conductor
After three highly successful Seasons as the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s Resident Conductor, Mélanie Léonard moves into the 2012/2013 Season with a new appointment as Associate Conductor. Known for her youthful vibrancy and dynamic versatility with musical genres and styles, Ms. Léonard has earned both critical acclaim and the respect of Calgary audiences and is increasingly sought after as a guest conductor with other major Canadian orchestras.
Since debuting with the CPO in 2009, Ms. Léonard has helmed numerous significant performances with its internationally acclaimed guest artists, including Herbie Hancock, Shauna Rolston, Chantal Kreviazuk, Jens Lindemann, The Canadian Tenors, Oscar Lopez and many others. She conducts the majority of the CPO’s POPS, Specials and Symphony Sundays for Kids concerts, and has led the Orchestra at performances for thousands of school children, seniors and community groups through extensive Outreach and Education programs.
A Montréal native, Ms. Léonard illustrates her virtuosity on the classical as well as the jazz scenes. 2007 marked her first collaboration with the Montréal Jazz Festival as she led the orchestra accompanying Colin James at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier (Place des Arts, Montréal) for the “Jazz à l’année” series. She returned to the same hall to conduct Nikki Yanofsky and Pink Martini’s symphonic shows during the Jazz Festival. She has served as Artistic Director of the Veaudreuil-Soulanges Classical Choir and is also the founder, Artistic Director and conductor of the highly acclaimed Ensemble Prima, a Montréal based chamber ensemble devoted to 20th and 21st century music.
Ms. Léonard’s impassioned love of music, her charming stage presence, and her rapport with musicians and audiences are quickly becoming known on the national music scene. In May 2012, she made her guest conducting debut with Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal and in March 2013, she debuts as guest conductor with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In 2012 she was honoured with the coveted Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting by the Canada Council for the Arts, awarded annually by a Music Advisory Committee comprised of the staff conductors of Canadian orchestras.
Ms. Léonard holds a Doctorate in orchestral conducting from the University of Montréal, where she studied with Maestri Paolo Bellomia and Jean-François Rivest. She received her Bachelor's degree in theory from the same university, and completed her Master’s of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Hartt School of Music, where she studied with Maestro Christopher Zimmerman.
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