Magalie Gavazzi-April
Magali began her university studies in violin at the University of Ottawa in the class of the acclaimed pedagogue Yehonatan Berick. Motivated by learning the violin and viola, she completed her studies in the studio of violinist Anne Robert at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal where she undertook a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music degree. She then continued her studies at the Conservatoire de Québec for a post-master's certificate in viola under the tutelage of Lambert Chen. She has gained valuable orchestral experience working under such renowned conductors as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Rafael Payare, Laurent Campellone, Alondra de la Parra, Yoav Talmi, Vasily Petrenko, Tania Miller, Alain Trudel, Jacques Lacombe, Nicholas Ellis and Carlos Miguel Prieto.
Her experience with the Orchestre des Amériques and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada led Magali to be invited to join the violin and viola sections of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the Opéra de Québec, the Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. As a member of these ensembles, she has performed in several countries, including Canada, Mexico, Germany, Scotland, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Her involvement in contemporary music and her interest in creation have led to invitations to record new works and to her selection for the Temporel 2022 Codes d'accès festival at La Sala Rossa where she performed the world premiere of Lily Koslow's S'enraciner for solo violin and electronics. Magali is a founding member and violinist of the Cabestan Ensemble which has performed in various festivals since its inception in the summer of 2022, such as the Ponticello series and the Concerts aux îles-du-Bic, and she plays regularly with Ensemble Ambitus as a violist since the fall of 2022. In 2023, Magali was invited to participate in community chamber music projects with the Orchestre de l'Agora on violin and viola. Most recently, Magali was invited to be a member of the Tango Nuevo Norteño Quintet, acclaimed by critics and North American music festivals as "Canada's Great Tango Band" (Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society).
Magali plays on a Pique de Paris 1820 violin, a François Lapierre violin bow, a Giacomo & Leandro Bisquier viola Giacomo & Leandro Bisiach 1862 viola and an Emmanuel Bégin bow, all generously loaned by Mr. Roger Dubois of the Canimex Inc. Foundation of Drummondville.
