Olivier Brault

Academic title(s): 

Course Instructor (Baroque Viola/Violin; Early Music Ensembles)

Olivier Brault
Department: 
Music Performance
Area(s): 
Early Music
Contact Information
Email address: 
olivier.b.brault [at] mcgill.ca
Instrument(s): 
Violin
Group: 
Faculty
Salutation: 
Dr.
Biography: 

Violinist Olivier Brault, from Terrebonne in Lanaudière, brings communicative enthusiasm and scholarship to concerts throughout Canada, Europe and the U.S.A. Director of the ensemble Sonate 1704, he leads as concertmaster the Apollo's Fire baroque orchestra (Cleveland) and Les Goûts Réunis in Luxembourg; he performs as principal violin with Four Nations Ensemble (New York) and with several Montreal-based ensembles including Les Boréades de Montréal, the Ensemble Caprice, the Quatuor Franz Joseph and Les idées heureuses. He holds a Doctorate from the Université de Montréal, where he specialized in 18th-century French violin repertoire and explored other areas of historical performance including baroque dance and theater. A sought-after instructor, he has been invited to lead workshops and masterclasses at major institutions including the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, McGill University, Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Penn State University, University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. He has participated in more than sixty recordings on the Atma, Analekta, Avie, earlymusic.com, XXI and Teldec labels. Les Grands Prix Desjardins de la Culture of Culture Lanaudière awarded him the Ambassadeur Télé-Québec (2011) and Musique (2012) prizes. In Terrebonne, the Gala du Griffon d'Or awarded him the Artiste par excellence (2012, 2014 and 2016) and Ambassadeur par excellence (2012) prizes. In May 2016, an article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ranked him among the ten Canadian violinists that must be known. In November 2011, Olivier Brault received the medal of the Assemblée Nationale du Québec for his cultural contribution.

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