Blake is Back!
Blake is Back! Internationally renowned violinist Blake Pouliot rejoins NYO Canada as our 2022 Artist in Residence.
The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) is pleased to announce violinist and NYO Canada Alumnus Blake Pouliot as the 2022 Artist in Residence. Blake will be joining us at Queen’s University for the NYO Canada summer orchestral institute from June 19th to July 20th, 2022 to provide individual lessons, masterclasses and performances with students and faculty members. Past artists/ensembles in residence include the Formosa Quartet, Gryphon Trio, True North Brass and Cho-liang Lin.
Hailing from Toronto, Blake Pouliot has quickly become one of the rising stars of Canadian classical music. Described by the Toronto Star as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime”, he has frequently graced the stage of concert halls across North America and Europe. Blake recently released his debut album featuring the works of Ravel and Debussy which earned him a 2019 Juno Nomination.
Having Blake as our Artist in Residence is a testament to the strength of NYO. Twice a member of NYO, Blake was also one of the first recipients of the Michael Measure’s Prize in 2013. Blake was also featured on our collaborative Frenergy tour, performing as a soloist accompanied by members of both NYO and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
Come catch Blake Pouliot at 7:30 pm on July 9th, 2022 at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts as he performs in our final faculty concert. This performance will be open to the public and free to attend, we hope to see you there.
About NYO Canada:
The mission of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) is to recruit the best young classical musicians from across the country and prepare them for careers as professional orchestral musicians. Each year, NYO Canada auditions more than 500 musicians ages 16-28.
Under the guidance of our world-renowned faculty of professional musicians and educators, orchestra members participate in the NYO Canada Chamberfest and Orchestral Training Institute, including a recording session, and a concert tour with performances in Canada and abroad in some of the world’s finest concert halls.
As the bridge between music education and a music career, NYO Canada’s vision is to launch Canada’s next generation of professional orchestral musicians by offering a comprehensive program that encompasses a full range of skills and experiences, entirely tuition-free. Additionally, each member of the orchestra receives a personal scholarship generously provided by our sponsors and donors.
The mandate of NYO Canada is to discover and inspire well-rounded and skilled orchestral musicians, support and promote Canadian emerging composers and artists, and build appreciation for classical music among audiences in every corner of the nation.
About Blake Pouliot:
Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned,” (ArtsAtlanta) violinist Blake Pouliot (pool-YACHT) has anchored himself among the ranks of classical phenoms. A tenacious young artist with a passion that enraptures his audience in every performance, Pouliot has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star).
Pouliot embarks on a fulfilling 2021/22 season that includes debuts with the Boise Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Plano Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra and Winnipeg Symphony; return engagements with the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Naples, Nova Scotia, and Tallahassee; recitals in Sarasota, Miami, and his Philadelphia debut; and touring the works of Beethoven as returning Artist-in-Residence with NPR’s Performance Today throughout Europe.
In the 2020/21 season, Pouliot was the Artist-in-Residence at Orchestre Métropolitain, deepening his relationship with the orchestra’s music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, across a series of concerts and recorded projects. He was also seen in performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, Reno Chamber Orchestra, and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He curated and led chamber music programs presented by the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and Artis-Naples and made his return to La Jolla Music Society SummerFest. A prolific recitalist and chamber musician who has performed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, Rockport, and Toronto, Pouliot was joined by pianist Hsing-I Huang at McGill University, University of Toronto, and the new RISE series in Miami.
Pouliot’s debut album, released on Analekta Records in 2019, features the works of Ravel and Debussy, and earned a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine as well as a 2019 Juno Award nomination for Best Classical Album. Adding to his accolades that year, Pouliot won both the Career Development Award from the Women’s Club of Toronto and the Virginia Parker Prize Career Grant from the Canada Arts Council. He has been featured twice on Rob Kapilow’s What Makes it Great? series and was NPR’s Performance Today Artist-in-Residence for the 2017-18 season in Minnesota and the 2018-19 season in Hawaii. In 2016, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition.
Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Pouliot has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has collaborated with many musical luminaries including conductors Sir Neville Marriner, David Afkham, Pablo Heras-Casado, David Danzmayr, JoAnn Falletta, Marcelo Lehninger, Nicholas McGegan, Alexander Prior, Vasily Petrenko and Thomas Søndergård.
Pouliot studied violin in Canada with Marie Bérard and Erika Raum, and he completed his training as an associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He graduated from the Colburn School Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Lipsett, the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair.
Pouliot performs on the 1729 Guarneri del Gesù, on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank as First Laureate of both their 2018 and 2015 Competition.
For further press information, please contact:
For NYO Canada:
Emily Dunbar
Administrative Assistant
NYO Canada
edunbar@nyoc.org
(416) 532-4470 Ext. 225./ (1 (888) 532-4470 Ext. 225
Marjorie Maltais
Executive Assistant
NYO Canada
mmaltais@nyoc.org
(416) 532-4470 Ext. 221./ (1 (888) 532-4470 Ext. 221
For Blake Pouliot:
Scott Mello
Vice President
Manager, Artists and Attractions
970 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor North
New York,NY10016
1-212-584-7530
Patricia A.Winter
Senior Vice President
Manager, Artists and Attractions
470 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor North
New York, NY10016
1-(212)-584-7525
(646)-300-8225
Daniel Kurpaska
Administrative Assistant
970 Park Avenue South, 9th floor north
New York,NY10016
212-584-7577