Individual files

Charles-Étienne Marchand is engaged with every aspect of the violin, exploring the various facets of the instrument in contrasting settings. His curiosity leads him to expand artistic frontiers, equally in the contemporary music world as that of baroque, classical and romantic music on period instruments. He is very much attracted by the convergence of music with other art forms.

As a chamber musician, he has been heard at the Orford Festival and with Ensemble Chorum, of which he is a founding member. He has performed with Ensemble contemporain de Montréal (ECM) and frequently with many Québec ensembles such as Les Violons du Roy, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the McGill Chamber Orchestra. On the theatre scene, he performed Denys Gougeon’s original score for Chekhov Le Moine noir (The Black Monk), produced by Denis Marleau (UBU/Ottawa National Art Centre) — a theatre play that has toured France and Belgium and he performed in Nancy Huston’s Une adoration, produced by Lorraine Pintal (Théâtre du Nouveau Monde). As Quartango’s violinist for nearly three years, he performed as a soloist notably with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (summer series at Davies Hall) and was heard in many series and festivals throughout Canada, the USA and Guatemala. With Quartango, he was awarded by the Conseil québécois de la musique the Prix Opus — Interpreter of the Year 2007-08. This collaboration has lead to the CD El Fuego, recorded with the Justin Time label. He has additionally played with many diverse groups and can be heard on Radio-Canada/CBC broadcasts. He joined Quatuor Bozzini in April 2010.

The core of Charles-Étienne’s musical training was undertaken at Conservatoire de musique du Québec, first in Val d’Or with Silviu Parlea, then with Anne Robert in Montréal, where a jury unanimously awarded him the Prix avec grande distinction. He afterward pursued his studies in Switzerland at Académie Tibor Varga in Sion, under the direction of Gyula Stuller, following as well numerous advanced masterclasses.