New Music Festival - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

PERFORMER/ARTIST BIOS
troupe has become one of the world's most
recognized dance companies, thanks to the unique
choreographic language it developed and has
constantly reinvented since its inception.
Choreographic complexity, the alteration of
balletic structures and the intertwining of
choreographic, musical and cinematic strands are
among the elements that create a sense of
perceptual distortion and renewal, that encourage
audiences to both reinvent and rediscover the
body and its dance. The company requires that its
dancers constantly redefine, question and renew
themselves, to bring out performances that move
from extreme physical challenge to the greatest of
lyricism. The Montréal troupe has collaborated
with institutions both prestigious and eclectic,
from the Opéra de Paris to Frank Zappa.
Anne Elise Lavallée, viola
Canadian violist Anne Elise Lavallée
received her early musical training
as well as her bachelor of music
from Le Conservatoire de Musique
de Québec. She was then invited by
renowned violist Emmanuel Vardi
to pursue a master’s degree in New York and was
awarded a distinguished full scholarship from the
Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Lavallée came
back to Montreal to freelance with various groups
and obtained an artist diploma from McGill
University studying under Douglas McNabney. In
1997, she won the position of assistant-principal
viola with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
and has made Winnipeg her home. Since then she
appears regularly with diverse music groups in
Manitoba as well as on CBC broadcasts. In
addition to her musical career, Ms. Lavallée has
held various administrative positions at the WSO
including serving on the board of directors. She
has been a radio freelancer for French CBC since
2000 and a frequent host on WSO’s Musically
Speaking radio show on CJOB, Masterworks
Series pre-concert talks and Up Close and
Orchestral educational series.
Édouard Lock, choreographer
La La La Human Steps founder,
artistic director and choreographer
Édouard Lock began his
choreographic career at the age of
20 and in 1980, he founded La La
La Human Steps. Over the years
Mr. Lock has been invited to create works for some of
the world’s leading dance companies, including the
Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris, the Het Nationale Ballet of
Holland and the Nederlands Dans Theater. His works
have garnered many awards and in 2010, he received
the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for
Lifetime Artistic Achievement. That same year, he
was also beneficiary of the Canada Council for the
Arts Molson Prize while the Université du Québec à
Montréal awarded him an honorary doctorate. He
has collaborated with artists including David Bowie
and Frank Zappa. Mr. Lock was named a Chevalier
de l’Ordre national du Québec in 2001 and Officer
of the Order of Canada in 2002.
Alexina Louie, composer (Canada)
Alexina Louie has been widely
commissioned by Canada’s most
prestigious orchestras, ensemble and
soloists. Most recently, her interest
in the collaborative experience has
led her to write scores for dance
(Wolf’s Court, The National Ballet of Canada),
film and television, a medium which has garnered
for her two Golden Sheaf Awards for best music
from the Yorkton Film Festival (Burnt Toast, and
Roxana - written with her husband and
collaborator, Alex Pauk). Among her many
honours, Ms. Louie has won the Jules Leger Prize
in Chamber Music, the Chalmer’s Award, two
Juno Awards and the National Arts Centre
Composers Award. She is an Officer of the Order
of Canada and holds an honourary doctorate
from the University of Calgary.
Megumi Masaki, piano
Award-winning pianist Megumi
Masaki has established herself as an
international artist renowned for her
warm rapport with audiences and
her superb musicianship. Her multifaceted
career as acclaimed soloist,
chamber musician, pedagogue, conductor,
champion of contemporary music and
multidisciplinary researcher of Peak Performance
has taken her across Canada, the U.S., Europe and
Asia. Ms. Masaki is presently associate professor of
piano at Brandon University, is on faculty at the
Casalmaggiore International Music Festival Italy,
the Waterford Summer Music Festival Utah USA
and is the artistic director of the Eckhardt-
Gramatté National Music Competition.
January – February 2012 I OVERTURE 33