Claire Ouellet
A native of Chicoutimi, Claire Ouellet is pursuing a brilliant career as a pianist on the Canadian stage as well as abroad. Her participation as a chamber musician is highly esteemed and regularly takes her to festivals and concert series, including Pro Musica, the Lanaudière Festival, Domaine Forget, Parry Sound, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Orgue et couleurs and Maison Trestler. Radio-Canada frequently broadcasts her performances.
A soloist with many orchestras throughout Canada, she has also been invited to play in Spain with the Grenada Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has given recitals in France, Switzerland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. A member of the piano Ouellet-Murray Duo, Claire Ouellet has made two recordings that have been acclaimed by critics internationally. The Duo appeared across the country during a tour for the Jeunesses musicales du Canada and at ‘Jouer dans l’île’ tour, organized by the Montreal Arts Council.
Carlos Feliciati was her teacher at the Conservatoire de musique de Saguenay in Chicoutimi, where she graduated with a stunning First Prize awarded unanimously. Ouellet was able to continue her studies in Paris thanks to scholarships from the French government and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Quebec. A winner of numerous awards, in 1994 she received her PhD in interpretation from the University of Montreal.
In 1995, she was appointed collaborative pianist at the Montreal Music Conservatory, specializing in violin and cello repertoires. She has participated in masterclasses with musicians such as Maxim Vengerov, Vadim Repin, Igor Oistrakh, Augustin Dumay, Gil Saham, Vladimir Spivakov and Janos Starker.
Her solid experience has made her sought-after in the summer academic circles such as the Camp musical des Laurentides and the Orford Arts Centre, as well as the Jeunesses Musicales Montreal International Competition.
