Have you ever wondered what being a student at the prestigious Curtis Institute is like?

Join us and meet a very talented francophone conductor: Benoit Gauthier, a native of Baie-Comeau, Québec !

Ahead of his Graduation Recital on February the 1st, Benoit Gauthier will share with us his personal and musical journey from his native Québec to Philadelphia and what his experience at Curtis brought him. He will talk about his passion for music and his ambition as a conductor.

Philippe Poirier, Executive Director of the Alliance Française, will lead the interview with our special guest, which will be followed by a Q&A from the audience. 

You will also be served some refreshment.

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Crédit photo : Isabelle Paradis

Benoit Gauthier - Biography

Recognized for his intensity and the depth of his interpretations, conductor Benoit Gauthier is the founder and artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de la Côte-Nord (OSCN), and Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the mentorship of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Ford Mylius Lallerstedt, and James Ross. He was recently awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting by the Canadian Council of the Arts.

To pursue his vision of fostering exchange between the public and artists, at age 16, Benoit founded his orchestra in the only region of Quebec that did not yet have a symphony orchestra, Côte-Nord. This project is based on his desire to make art and music accessible to all. In just a few years, the OSCN has become a well-established professional orchestra, offering solid interpretations of major symphonic works.

After obtaining an undergraduate degree from the Quebec Conservatory of Music in flute performance, Benoit honed his skills in masterclasses with Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Bramwell Tovey, and Mei-Ann Chen. From 2021 to 2024, he was one of six young Canadian conductors in the first cohort of the Orchestre Métropolitain's Conducting Academy, led by its artistic director and principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In recent seasons, Benoit Gauthier has collaborated with guest conductors JoAnn Falletta, Victorien Vanoosten, and Andreas Ottensamer. In the 2024-2025 season, Benoit looks forward to his debut in New York at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, as well as returning to the Laval Symphony Orchestra and touring the Côte-Nord region with various projects and concerts with the OSCN.

Website: www.benoitgauthierchef.com/en

Benoit Gauthier's Graduation Recital, Feb 1, 2025 @ 7:30 P.M 

https://www.curtis.edu/event/graduation-recital-benoit-gauthier-feb-1-2025/

*** WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ***

Day: Wednesday, January 29th, 2025
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Duration: 1 hour
Location:  Alliance Française de Philadelphie, 1420 Walnut St, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Language: English, French
Fee: $10 for AF members / $15 for non AF members