Marina Thibeault

Violist Marina Thibeault is renowned for her “rich and deep sound as well as her virtuosity and exceptional enthusiasm” (The Strad). Thibeault brings a focused intensity to the musical scene as a chamber musician, concert artist, and soloist. Through her practice, she continually questions the traditional role of the performer, seeking an approach that unites physical engagement, emotional depth, and artistic transcendence.

Named Revelation of the Year 2016-2017 by Radio-Canada, Marina has since been invited to perform as a soloist internationally with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Northern Czech Republic, the Orchestra of Mariánské Lázně, the Chamber Orchestra of Santiago, as well as in recital in Verbier. In Canada, audiences have heard her with the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézêt-Séguin, Kamloops Symphony, La Sinfonia Toronto, and l'Orchestre de l'Agora among others. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with members of the Guarneri Quartet and the Cleveland Quartet, as well as with Charles Richard-Hamelin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Johannes Moser. Her interest in new music has led her to work with composers John Corigliano, Joan Tower and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Marina has recorded four albums on ATMA Classique, all of which have received strong critical and public acclaim. Her first release, Toquade (2017), was selected in the “Classical Album of the Year” category at the 2017 ADISQ Gala as well as in the “Record of the Year” category at the 2018 Prix Opus. Recorded in 2019, ELLES has contributed to the recognition of the work of women composers who are unfairly forgotten or unknown to the general public. Her JUNO Award album, Viola Borealis (2022), reflects her willingness to connect different languages within creative programming. With this album, she revisits her own relationship to the north by traversing works by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks and Anishinaabe artist Melody McKiver, as well as the very first viola concerto, composed around 1716 by Telemann. Her newest release with Trio Garibaldi, Faded in Sepia (2026), alongside clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester and pianist David Fung, expands her chamber music discography through commissions of new works by Stephen Chatman and Dorothy Chang, the first commercial recording of Lowell Liebermann’s Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 128, and original arrangements of music by Duke Ellington. This album reflects her continued commitment to artistic collaboration, expanding repertoire, and exploring the expressive richness of chamber music.

A graduate of McGill University and the Curtis Institute of Music and now Assistant Professor of Viola and Chamber Music Coordinator at McGill, she leads innovative pedagogical initiatives that connect performance, research, and community engagement, while mentoring the next generation of performers through an approach that balances technical rigor with artistic autonomy. Marina Thibeault’s research interests include performance psychology, embodiment, and artistic resilience—interests she also nurtures through endurance sports and time spent in nature. Through her work, she seeks not only to push the boundaries of the viola, but a deeper, more human connection to music—one that invites reflection, vulnerability, and transformation.