ABOUT
Gabriel Quenneville-Bélair is a French Canadian pianist hailed for his electrifying and powerful performances, revealing an unbridled imagination imbued with musical intelligence. His colourful interpretations marry a poignant polyphony with clarity of technique and form.
Gabriel QB holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with Lydia Artymiw from the University of Minnesota, along with a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance with Richard Raymond from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal.
In recent seasons, he has performed Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor with HHO, KSO, OSI, OPMEM, and the University of Minnesota Orchestra as the winner of the 2016 University of Minnesota Concerto Competition. Other noteworthy invitations include a recital and masterclass for the Musicians’ Association of Tai’an, China, a lecture-recital on Russian Piano Repertoire for the Minneapolis Music Teacher Association, United States, and a performance at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, United States.
An exceptional pianist. His playing unifies
technique, sensitivity, and depth.
- Fondation de soutien aux arts de Laval
Gabriel QB is also a dedicated pedagogue, with over ten years of teaching experience. He worked in various academic settings, including three years as a Piano Teaching Assistant for the University of Minnesota. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Piano Literature at the Wilfrid Laurier University.
Gabriel Quenneville-Bélair gathered prestigious prizes in over twenty competitions. Most recently in 2018, he won First Prize at the Hart House Orchestra Concerto Competition, Second Prize at the American Prize in Piano Performance, and First Prize at The American Protégé International Competition. He is the 2016 Winner of the Claude F. Lefebvre Scholarship of the Fondation de soutien aux arts de Laval, which supported the production of his solo album, a compilation of Russian, Norwegian, Canadian and French music, available on Amazon and iTunes since 2018.
Gabriel QB has received mentorship from several distinguished pianists such as André Laplante, Benedetto Lupo, Robert Silverman, Marc Durand, Raoul Sosa, Ksenia Nosikova, Kyoko Hashimoto, Jean Saulnier, Suzanne Blondin, Esther Gonthier and Olivier Godin. He received the Centennial Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, and the Gilles-Gauthier Scholarship for Best Academic Profile at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
He has also premiered numerous works by living composers such as a Prelude by Sean Clarke, written especially for him to perform. His dedication to exploring a truly modern repertoire of the piano establishes him as a passionate defender of contemporary music.
In addition to his solo performance, he takes great pleasure in collaborating in unconventional settings, such as a piece by François-Gabriel Madden for a 16th-tone Piano and small orchestra, and his premiere of Persephone by Ted Moore, for small ensemble and dancers.
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