Elie Boissinot
Praised by critics for his “rich and ample tone” (Ludwig van Montréal) and for his “lyrical” and “eloquent” orchestral solos (Winnipeg Free Press), cellist Elie Boissinot has received major national awards, including the Golden Violin Award, the Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant, First Prize at the Canadian Music Competition, the Stingray Rising Star Prize, and the McGill Concerto and Chamber Music Competitions.
Elie has enjoyed an extensive freelance career in Montréal, appearing regularly with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, including two Pentatone recordings of Mahler and Schoenberg and an international tour in Korea. He served as Principal Cello of the Pronto Musica Chamber Orchestra (2019– 2024), and also performed with Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre classique de Montréal, Orchestre de l’Agora, and Les Violons du Roy. Before joining the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as Principal Cello, he briefly held the position of Assistant Principal Cello with Symphony Nova Scotia.
A committed chamber musician and string quartet enthusiast, Elie is the founding cellist of the Lorne String Quartet, with which he appeared at Aspen and the McGill International String Quartet Academy, and was selected for the Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition. He has also performed with Musica Camerata Montréal, the OSM Chamber series, and at the Festival de musique de chambre de Montréal, collaborating with a wide network of Canadian and international artists.
In parallel with his performing career, Boissinot pursues research on musicians’ auditory health and intonation in string quartet performance. His work has been published in Frontiers in Psychology (2022) and presented at the International Symposium on Performance Science (2021). He has received scholarships from the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He also co-founded and co-directed the Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur des Mélomanes, reaching audiences of over 60,000 (2015–2019).
Boissinot has served as a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba, teaching private lessons, chamber music, and orchestral excerpt classes. He trained at McGill University with Brian Manker and Elizabeth Dolin, most recently completing his Artist Diploma. He plays on an instrument and bow generously loaned by Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, QC.
