Symphony NB appoints Mélanie Léonard as Music Director
July 12, 2021 – Saint John, NB – After an extensive search spanning nearly three years, Symphony New Brunswick (SNB) is delighted to announce the appointment of Mélanie Léonard as its next music director.
“Mélanie has a unique mix of experience and vision that can take Symphony New Brunswick to the next level,” Reid Parker, SNB’s president, says. “We believe she has what it takes for us to become a more prominent player in Canada’s orchestra scene.”
Ms. Léonard will arrive in New Brunswick this fall to begin work with SNB, New Brunswick’s only fully professional provincial orchestra, which she guest conducted in 2018.
“I come to the table with ideas, and I look forward to promoting Symphony New Brunswick's artistic excellence and contributing to the richness of its vision,” she says. “I am driven by the idea of participating in our future by exploring new horizons while upholding the orchestra’s traditions.”
Leonard emerged from a crowded field in a competitive selection process that began in 2018. SNB received more than 50 applications from conductors in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Maestra Léonard has conducted a number of major symphony orchestras across Canada, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy. She is music director at Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and was resident and associate conductor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. She co-founded the Calgary New Music Festival and served as its artistic director until 2016. A sought-after studio recording conductor, she has worked with renowned artists such as Herbie Hancock, Charles Richard-Hamelin and Isabel Bayrakdarian.
Mr. Parker says the selection committee was impressed by Ms. Léonard’s dynamism on the podium, as well as her deep interest in community outreach.
As Canada’s only officially bilingual province, New Brunswick has two major linguistic communities and three distinct major cities–Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton–which Symphony New Brunswick, one of the few touring orchestras in Canada, serves equally.
Ms. Léonard joins Symphony New Brunswick at an exciting time. Its recent 70th-anniversary fundraising campaign was a success, attracting support for an endowment that will give the organization financial stability and a foundation from which to grow. And, despite the challenges of COVID-19, Symphony NB was one of the few orchestras in Canada that continued to perform live this past year.
Ms. Léonard’s first performance with Symphony NB is planned for Oct. 22, conducting the music of Mozart, Hétu and Schubert.
About Mélanie Léonard
Born in Montreal, Mélanie Léonard is the music director of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. She has also been resident conductor and associate conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
She was invited to conduct at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and several Canadian orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Edmonton, Regina, Calgary and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras and Symphony Nova Scotia.
Maestra Léonard is also in demand for various recording projects. She has recorded soundtracks for Aura at Montréal’s Notre-Dame Basilica; Land of Fantasy, a Cirque du Soleil show presented in Hangzhou, China; and Paradise City, an immersive multimedia universe in South Korea.
Mélanie Léonard was the first woman to complete a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the University of Montreal. In 2012, she received the Jean-Marie Baudet Prize in orchestral conducting awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts.