The chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy borrows its name from the renowned string orchestra of the court of the French kings. The group, which has a core membership of fifteen players, was brought together in 1984 by music director Bernard Labadie and specializes in the vast repertoire of music for chamber orchestra, performed in the stylistic manner most appropriate to each era. Although the ensemble plays on modern instruments, its approach to the works of the Baroque and Classical periods has been strongly influenced by current research into performance practice in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Les Violons du Roy is at the heart of the music scene in Québec City, where it has been in residence at the Palais Montcalm since 2007. The orchestra is well known throughout Canada thanks to the numerous concerts and recordings broadcast by Société Radio-Canada and CBC, and its regular presence at music festivals. Les Violons du Roy first performed in Europe in 1988 and has since given dozens of concerts in France, Germany, England, Spain and the Netherlands, with internationally-renowned soloists including Magdalena Kožená, David Daniels and Vivica Genaux.

Bernard Labadie, conductor

October 2009 marked Bernard Labadie’s 25th year at the head of Les Violons du Roy, the chamber orchestra he frequently conducts at leading venues in North America and Europe, in addition to being a key member of the orchestra’s regular seasons in Québec City and Montréal.

Bernard Labadie has become one of the most sought-after guest conductors in North America. In September 2009 he made his debut appearance with the Metropolitan Opera in New York in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Bernard Labadie is also becoming a favorite with European period-instrument groups after his brilliant debut with the Orchestra of Collegium Vocale Ghent in 2008.

Alexander Weimann, harpsichord

Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists, and chamber music partners of his generation. After traveling the world with ensembles like Tragicomedia, and as frequent guest with the Freiburger Barockorchester, Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik, he now focuses on his activities as conductor of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra Vancouver, Music Director of Les Voix Baroques, and as a member of the musical theatre ensemble Le Nouvel Opéra Montréal.

Weimann can be heard on some 100 CDs and, frequently, on the radio in many countries. He made his North American recording debut with the ensemble Tragicomedia on the CD Capritio (Harmonia Mundi USA), and won worldwide acclaim from both the public and critics for his 2001 release of Handel’s Gloria.

Weimann was born in Munich, where he studied the organ, sacred music, musicology, theatre, medieval Latin and jazz piano. For half a decade, he has been teaching early music performance practice to voice and instrumental students at the Université de Montréal.