BENOIT GAUTHIER

Recognized for his intensity and the depth of his interpretations, conductor Benoit Gauthier is the founder and artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de la Côte-Nord (OSCN), and Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the mentorship of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Ford Mylius Lallerstedt, and James Ross. He was recently awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting by the Canadian Council of the Arts.

 

To pursue his vision of fostering exchange between the public and artists, at age 16, Benoit founded his orchestra in the only region of Quebec that did not yet have a symphony orchestra, Côte-Nord. This project is based on his desire to make art and music accessible to all. In just a few years, the OSCN has become a well-established professional orchestra, offering solid interpretations of major symphonic works (Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Mahler's Fourth Symphony in 2022, a Beethoven Symphony Cycle from 2023 to 2025, etc.), and organizing tailor-made tours that take into account the geographical reality of the region (Un vent de Renouveau in 2023, Affluence with the Orchestre du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean in 2022, and Traversée Symphonique with the Quebec Transport Society and the Orchestre de l’Estuaire in 2025).

 

Young audiences are also at the heart of Benoit Gauthier's musical priorities. He regularly engages with them, creating and promoting cultural mediation initiatives, as well as efforts to encourage access to the rich and vast repertoire of classical music. Since 2019, he and his colleagues has been regularly visiting Basse-Côte-Nord, which is only accessible by plane or boat, to foster opportunities for dialogue about music in remote regions.

 

In 2023, with the participation of regional artists and cultural organizations, Benoit created two colorful youth productions: The Story of a Nutcracker, based on Tchaikovsky's famous work, and Babar and a Few Other Notes, which represents the different families of instruments to bring to life a musical illustrated tale exploring the works of composer Francis Poulenc. This show is currently touring with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Laval Symphony Orchestra, and the OSCN. His work with both emerging and established composers has led to the creation of landmark works such as the symphonic poem Nordicité (2022) by North Shore composer Martin Caron, as well as the Symphonic Suite based on the play Cyrano de Bergerac (2023) by Simon Desbiens.

 

After obtaining an undergraduate degree from the Quebec Conservatory of Music in flute performance under Jacinthe Forand and in orchestral conducting under Gilles Auger, Benoit honed his skills in masterclasses with Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Bramwell Tovey, and Mei-Ann Chen. From 2021 to 2024, he was one of six young Canadian conductors in the first cohort of the Orchestre Métropolitain's Conducting Academy, led by its artistic director and principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

 

In recent seasons, Benoit Gauthier has conducted the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Opera Academy Orchestra, and has assisted conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin, JoAnn Falletta, Victorien Vanoosten, Carlos Spierer, and Andreas Ottensamer.

 

Benoit Gauthier is also a versatile pianist. His passion for collaborating with singers led him to train with renowned vocal coaches such as Wolfgang Holzmair, Christine Brewer, François Le Roux, Olivier Godin, and Jennifer Larmore. He has therefore brought a deeper knowledge of singing and vocal repertoire to recent assistant conductor engagements in the world of opera, including George Lewis’ Comet/Poppea and Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen with the Curtis Opera Theatre (2024) as well as Puccini's Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi with the Berlin Opera Academy (2022).

 

In the 2024-2025 season, Benoit looks forward to his debut in New York at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, as well as returning to the Laval Symphony Orchestra and touring the Côte-Nord region with various projects and concerts with the OSCN. With the OSCN, he will also present the premiere of Healing Requiem by the young composer and pianist Alexis Volant, originally from Pessamit. This work for soprano, baritone, traditional drummers ensemble, choir, and orchestra, was written in memory of the Indigenous youth whose graves have been found in recent years at various sites across Canada.

 

Benoit Gauthier received the 2023 Emerging Artist Award on the Côte-Nord, presented by Culture Côte-Nord. He is also the recipient of numerous scholarships, including from the AIDA Fund of the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Art Council as a composer, flutist and conductor.