B i o g r a p h y
Emilie Charest is recently graduated from McGill University for the Licence in voice performance, under soprano Aline Kutan. This program allowed her to perform in an Art Song Interpretation class, under Michael McMahon and Marie-Ève Scarfone. She has done in 2018 a certificate in instrumental Pedagogy at Université de Montréal. In 2015, she completed her baccalaureate studies at Université de Sherbrooke, where she had the opportunity to perform in recitals, especially her final concert.
During these years, she has attended few workshops such as chamber music. She also performed in many concerts with the Choir of UdeS particularly Christmas with Gino Quilico and others about opera scenes. She played the role of Miss Pinkerton in Menotti’s Old Maid and the Thief, in March 2015. In 2016, she took part as a soloist in J.-S. Bach’s Magnificat with a regional choir.
In addition, she participated in several competitions. In June 2015, she got into the finals of the Canadian Music Competition in Vancouver, winning the Second Prize in her category. Besides she received a study grant for a First Prize at the Festival-Concours de Musique de Sherbrooke in May before. Finally, she participated in 2016 at the Concours de Musique du Royaume (Saguenay Lac St-Jean) and in 2012 at the Concours de Musique de la Capitale, in which she also won prizes.
Going back in time, after four years of popular singing and musicals, Emilie started at the age of 15 her studies in operatic singing. She had the chance of studying until 2016 under soprano Lyne Fortin and Gail Desmarais, during her baccalaureate. She completed her DEC studies in classical singing at Cegep de Saint-Laurent where she held the role of Second Lady and Second Spirit in the production of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.
On many occasions, she has had the opportunity of participating in summer music workshops such as the Stratford Music Festival, in 2020, about oratorio and orchestral pieces. It allowed her to encounter various well-known artists by their master classes: Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Erin Wall and Russel Braun. She attended the Domaine Forget in 2016 and 2017, which was focused on opera arias, German lieder and French arts songs. It gave her the opportunity to participate in master classes with eminent specialists like Jennifer Larmore, François Le Roux, Wolfgang Holzmair and Christine Brewer. These workshops had made her work with voice teachers like Dominique Labelle and Lena Hellström-Färnlöf. In 2017, she participates in other programs such as the Early Music Vancouver Festival, which was about baroque from the 16th and 17th centuries. In the same year, she also attended Master classes with Olaf Bär on Schumann’s lied and Richard Margisson for operatic arias. She also attended in 2014, the Young Artist Summer Program of Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, mainly about chamber music. She also went to various programs located in Quebec province regions, in order to develop her stage skills under directors including Nathalie Deschamps, Bertrand Alain and Oriol Tomas.
At the time, she is working with various coaches such as Olivier Godin Esther Gonthier, Pierre Maclean and Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, stage director.
As for relevant experiences, she has had the opportunity of participating in language studies in North America and Europe which allowed her immersion in English and Italian. She has had the pleasure of performing several solo recitals for various organizations in Montreal’s South Shore.
Her future projects are to focus her career on these fields: art songs, bel canto and oratorios. She strongly wishes to pursue her studies/career by taking part of YAP in Europe or America.