Caroline Chéhadé, Violin

Described by La Presse as “a true violinist with a clear and complete technique and good sonority,” Caroline Chéhadé performs throughout North America, China, and Europe. A second-time winner of the Musical Instrument Bank Competition, Ms. Chéhadé was awarded the Windsor-Weinstein Stradivari of 1717 from the Canada Council for the Arts. She is a grand prize winner in numerous solo competitions, including the Prix d’Europe and has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, I Musici de Montréal and the Timisoara Philharmonic Orchestra in Roumania. Her repertoire includes variety of concerti such as Sibelius, Brahms, Tchaïkovsky, Bruch, Stravinsky, Mozart and Vivaldi, and she has performed at the Wilfrid-Pelletier Hall in Montreal and the Lanaudière Festival Auditorium. Pianist Alain Lefèvre regards her recording of the Prokofiev Violin Sonata no 2 as “Deutsche Grammophon standard” and views Ms. Chéhadé as “one of the most talented violinist of her generation.”

Showing a natural inclination for music at an early age, Caroline Chéhadé completed her curriculum at the Montreal Conservatory of Music with violonist Anne Robert. After graduating with the Prix avec Grande Distinction, she went to New York to pursue her studies at the Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College with world-renowned professor Lucie Robert. She can frequently be heard on the radio, and made guest appearances as part of the Jeunes Artistes series and live radio broadcasts for Radio-Canada. A versatile violinist and sought-after chamber musician, she plays in various groups, from duet to chamber orchestra, drawing from traditional repertoire as well as new music. She was invited to play in the New York String Orchestra under Jaime Laredo’s baton and has also performed for world-renowned musicians such as Gil Shaham, Midori, Robert Mann and Augustin Dumay. Her chamber music teachers have included David Krakauer, Peter Winograd, Laurie Smuckler and Mark Silverman.

Chéhadé is a founding member and artistic director of the Halo Ensemble, an innovative artists collaborative and chamber orchestra made up of young professional musicians from around the globe. Working closely with the Crescendo International Institute in Hungary, the MasterWorks Festival in Indiana, Uskon Yö in Finland and Productions musicales Kaléidoscopes of Montreal, Caroline Chéhadé contributes to the development of Halo’s regular and summer season. She also takes pleasure in playing concerti with amateur and youth orchestras. She performed the Sibelius Concerto with the Doctors Orchestra of New York and Brahms Concerto with the Montreal Symphony Youth Orchestra. She wants to inspire musicians of the younger generation to find their own way to relate to their instrument and to become the person they want to be. Presenting music to her audience as an offering of beauty and truth, she believes that music is an expression of the soul that cannot be worded. When she’s not playing violin, Caroline Chéhadé enjoys nothing more than sharing meaningful conversations with close friends over a cup of coffee.