Pierre Simard, Artistic Director

PIERRE SIMARD was appointed Artistic Director of the Vancouver Island Symphony in 2008. He is currently Resident Conductor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. His career leads him throughout Europe, the USA, the Mauritius and Réunion islands and Canada. He appears as guest conductor with major North American ensembles, including orchestras in Milwaukee, Tucson, Toronto, Ottawa (NAC), Hamilton, Victoria, Québec’s Les Violons du Roy and Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. All the while fiery and elegant, he shares his passion for music with a contagious enthusiasm. His warm and generous personality, exceptional charisma and deep knowledge of the orchestral repertoire have granted him repeated praise from critics and audiences alike.

Pierre Simard was awarded the Canada Council for the Arts 2007 Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in conducting. He received two Opus Prizes from the Québec Music Council while music director with SMCQ-Jeunesse, and grants from the Québec Arts Council, Montreal’s Mayor Foundation and Ville de Laval.

A passionate defender of new music as well as mainstream symphonic repertoire, Pierre Simard dedicates himself to reinventing the concert form, combining his fresh ideas, fantasy and humour with music. His outstanding creativity and engagement with youth audiences inspire him to write and perform original symphonic shows which are featured across Canada.

MAESTRO MARLIN WOLFE , Conductor Emeritus

Marlin Wolfe was the founding Artistic Director of the Vancouver Island Symphony from 1996-2008. Wolfe has conducted concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia, Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden and recently conducted the Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce in Italy, to critical acclaim. He has also conducted national tours of The Nutcracker with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and performances with the Banff Festival Ballet. Maestro Wolfe founded the Edmonton Chamber Players Orchestra and was its Music Director and Conductor for five years. During this time, it was heard regularly on National CBC Radio in Canada and the US. Other orchestras he has conducted include the Calgary Philharmonic, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Canadian Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina and Victoria Symphonies as well as the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. In 2001 Marlin Wolfe was awarded the Excellence in Culture award by the city of Nanaimo for his contributions and accomplishments with the Vancouver Island Symphony.