I come to the table with ideas, and I look forward to promoting Symphony New Brunswick’s artistic excellence and contributing to the richness of its vision. I am driven by the idea of participating in our future by exploring new horizons while upholding the orchestra’s traditions.
Mélanie Léonard, Music Director, Symphony New Brunswick
About Mélanie Léonard
Born in Montreal, Mélanie Léonard was most recently the music director of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. She has also been resident conductor and associate conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
She was invited to conduct at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and several Canadian orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Edmonton, Regina, Calgary and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras and Symphony Nova Scotia.
Maestra Léonard has recorded soundtracks for Aura at Montréal’s Notre-Dame Basilica; Land of Fantasy, a Cirque du Soleil show presented in Hangzhou, China; and Paradise City, an immersive multimedia universe in South Korea.
Mélanie Léonard was the first woman to complete a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the University of Montreal. In 2012, she received the Jean-Marie Baudet Prize in orchestral conducting awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts.
About Symphony NB
Symphony New Brunswick is the province’s only fully professional orchestra. Serving Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John equally in both official languages, Symphony New Brunswick consists of professional musicians, with a limited number of auditioned apprentice positions. The eight core musicians of the orchestra offer chamber music concerts and dozens of free school and community outreach concerts each season. As individual groups, our musicians have musically traversed Canada, the U.S., Europe, China and South America.
Meet our core musicians
Miles and Eunice Kierstead Memorial Chair
The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Chair
BMO Financial Group Endowed Chair
Pannell Family Endowed Chair
Philip W. Oland Memorial Chair
Second Chair First Violin
Dr Tom Condon Memorial Chair
Second Chair Second Violin
Li-Hong Xu Memorial Chair
Second Chair Cello
The Tom & Lisa Gribbons Endowed Chair
Section Cello
The Marion Isabel Pedersen & Sister Marie Estelle Memorial Chair
Section Viola
Reid & Jaqueline Parker Endowed Chair
Principal Trumpet
Wallace, Norma and John MacMurray Memorial Chair
