Mélanie Harel & Valérie Dallaire
Biography Mélanie Harel & Valérie Dallaire
Mélanie Harel
has been the Principal English Horn in the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal since 2008. She graduated from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec, which unanimously awarded her the Oboe Prize, summa cum laude, in 2000. That same year, thanks to a scholarship from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, she entered the 6th Tokyo International Oboe Competition, reaching the semi-finals. Another scholarship, from the Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l’Aide à la Recherche (FCAR) and the Association des femmes d’affaires du Québec, allowed her to pursue her studies in Europe, with Jacques Tys, Louise Pellerin and François Leleux. As Principal English Horn in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002 to 2007, she toured internationally (in Australia, China and Singapore), recorded for the BIS label, and performed under conductors Kees Bakels, Lorin Maazel, Claus Peter Flor, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Sir Neville Marriner.
Valérie Dallaire
studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Chicoutimi with Suzanne Goyette. She continued her studies at the Université de Montréal, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in piano performance under Sylviane Deferne, as well as a Master's degree and a Doctorate under Marc Durand.
Among other prizes and distinctions, she won first place in 1998 and 1999 at the Concours de musique du Québec, second place at the Concours national de musique in 1998, and the Taubman Prize in 1999. She has received two doctoral scholarships from the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the Université de Montréal, a grant from the Fonds Les Amis de l'Art, and a grant from the Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l'aide à la recherche (FCAR). She was the winner of the Société québécoise de recherche en musique (SQRM) conference competition in 2001.
Her first book, L'oeuvre pour piano de Jacques Hétu, was published in March 2005 by Éditions Doberman-Yppan. The book offers a series of analyses of the Quebec composer's piano works, highlighting the key points in the stylistic development of Hétu's work and the most characteristic elements of his musical language.
Valérie Dallaire is assistant director of the École préparatoire de musique at the Université du Québec à Montréal, where she also teaches piano. She is a member of the Duo Borée with flutist Albert Brouwer. Since September 2015, she has also been pianist-accompanist in the Department of Music at UQAM.
