Our congratulations to Bernard Labadie, music director of les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, who was recently selected as Grand Lauréat of the Year by Le Soleil and Radio-Canada, in honour of the acclaim his artistry has brought to Quebec’s capital region.

Orchestra News was saddened to learn of the death, earlier this week, of Canadian composer Jacques Hétu.  A native of Trois-Rivières, M. Hétu taught at Université Laval, the Université de Montréal and UQAM.  His catalogue of compositions comprises over 70 works, and he has been one of the most-performed Canadian composers of works for orchestra.  We’ll not soon forget the experience of taking him backstage to meet the members of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2004, fresh from a performance of his Images de la Révolution:  the NYO members were as excited to thank him for the privilege of playing his work as he was pleased to meet them.