BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

The Quatuor Arthur-LeBlanc (composed of violinists Hibiki Kobayashi and Brett Molzan, violist Jean-Luc Plourde and cellist Ryan Molzan) is widely recognized as one of Canada's finest string ensembles. As of September 2005, the QAL proudly assumed the role of quartet-in-residence at the Université Laval in Quebec City.

In addition to their role as invited professors in the Laval string faculty, where they also teach chamber music, the members of the QAL continue to pursue the highest levels of artistic excellence in their national and international appearances. The quartet is frequently invited to play on Canada’s major concert stages and regularly tours abroad, including a performance at Carnegie Hall and frequent tours in Japan. The quartet has been warmly appreciated at numerous festivals including Ottawa, Festival of the Sound, Domaine Forget, Orford, Ravinia and Santander (Spain). Programs have included appearances with such distinguished artists as cellists Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Janos Starker, pianists Anton Kuerti, Marc-André Hamelin, Stéphane Lemelin and Dang Thai Son, clarinettist James Campbell and the Shostakovich, Orford and Kocian Quartets.

Named after the great Acadian violinist, the Arthur-LeBlanc Quartet was founded in 1988 with the support of the Université de Moncton, the Canada Council for the Arts and Radio-Canada.

The quartet invests in the future of chamber music through various activities including chamber music workshops and masterclasses, as well as teaching at summer academies. The QAL’s strong commitment to new music, especially from Quebec and across Canada, led them to commission and premiere works by composers André Prévost, Kelly-Marie Murphy, Vincent Collard, Jacques Desjardins, Martin Valcke and Anita Sleeman.

The Quatuor Arthur-LeBlanc’s recording of Shostakovich’s 15 string quartets on the XXI-21 label is the first by a Canadian quartet. Other recordings of the QAL can be found on the ATMA, Fonovox, XXI-21 and Naxos labels.Since its creation, the artistic value of the quartet has been recognized and encouraged by the Canada and New Brunswick Arts Councils, CBC Radio, and the Jeunesses Musicales of Canada. In 1998, the quartet was awarded the JMC’s Cécile-Mesnard-Pomerleau prize, for remarkable contribution to the organization.