Elise Richard

ABOUT

Elise Richard, an accomplished Canadian pianist, is recognized for her refined sound, energetic playing, and meticulous technique. She performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborator. She is also a very passionate piano teacher. 

For many years, she shares her passion on stage in the United States, Canada, Italy, Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Having collaborated with many great musicians like Philippe Muller, Harold Robinson, Martin Beaver, Vladimir Landsman, Antonio Lisy, Laurence Kayaleh and Brian Manker, among others, she is appreciated for her human and artistic qualities. 

Elise Richard stands out for her rich musical personality, which has led her to shine in many different projects. For example, she has been a member of the faculty of the Domaine Forget International Festival for 22 years. She has been a collaborator in several national and international competitions, such as the OSM competition, the Prix d' Europe and the Montreal International Competition, Munich International Competition. Her passion for chamber music has allowed her to perform with various ensembles, such as the Gagné-Richard Trio with which piano trio she was a member for many years, and the Molinari Quartet. She is also an active member of the duo Chaminade, piano four hands and two pianos. Her performances have been broadcast on Radio Canada, National Public Radio in Cleveland, New York, and Chicago, as well as on Radio-France and on many social media. 

Her interest in contemporary music and her desire to expand her activities have given her the opportunity to be in contact with the contemporary composers Pavel Kolpakov, Brian Field, and Paolo Pandolfo. In August 2022, Elise Richard presented in Italy the world premiere of the piano sonata "Cold Winter" composed for her by Paolo Pandolfo. The Sonata is available on all major streaming platforms. 

A very respected educator in Montreal, she teaches also at the Talent Music Summer Courses and Festival in Brescia, Italy. She has been invited in 2023 to the Music Fest Perugia, the International Music Festival of Colombes in France, and the Euro Arts Festival in Poland. She is regularly asked to be a jury member for various competitions. Elise will be on the jury of the Grand Concours International de Piano de Paris in July 2023. 

Elise Richard stands out in her academic journey. She graduated from the Montreal Conservatory of Music, she continued superior studies at the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music under Vitya Vronsky-Babin and Sergei Babayan. M. Babayan is still her mentor. Elise had the opportunity to play for Leon Fleischer, Jerome Lowenthal, Emmanuel Ax. It was also in Cleveland that she studied collaboration with pianist Ann Epperson, who was the pianist for the studio of the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz. She also studied chamber music with great musicians, such as Isaac Stern, Yoyo Ma, Donald Wallerstein, and Davis Cerone. Elise had the privilege to study with Jean-Bernard Pommier at the Académie de Musique de Lausanne. 

The Duo Chaminade was founded in 2016 during a summer Festival in Quebec. The two fine pianists Elise Richard and Catherine Leroux felt a chemistry between them while sight reading together during that summer. Since they presented many recitals. They went on tour for “L’ Arsenal à musique” in Chicoutimi, performing the Carnaval des Animaux, also in various schools in Montreal and residences for elders, like Manor Outremont among others. The Duo performed at the Verdun Library, was also invited to Houses of Culture in North Montreal, Rivières-des-Prairies, Ville St-Laurent. 

Elise and Catherine were invited by Polyconcert to perform at the Geriatric Institute of Montreal for an event and they played many times at the summer musical academy Pere Lindsay. After the pandemic, they were invited to play at the Outremont Theater, at Marie-Victorin School, at the Vincent D’Indy Institution. They also presented again the Carnaval des Animaux in other schools in Montreal. They did a recording of Carnaval in Piccolo Studio, Montreal, with the OSJM under the conductor Louis Lavigueur. They were invited to perform at Outremont Theater and the Cultural Center of Repentigny. 

Elise is also a soloist, chamber player, and collaborator. She performs in the USA, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and Austria. She was the first student of the great Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and he is still her mentor. She played the world premiere of the piano sonata Cold Winter, dedicated to her by the Italian composer Paolo Pandolfo, in Italy, during the summer of 2022 where she was giving piano masterclasses at the Talent Music summer courses and Festival, in Brescia. Elise has been also a member of the piano trio Gagné-Richard for many years. The same composer wrote for the Duo Chaminade, a two-piano piece, Canadian Rhapsody. 

Catherine played with many good musicians in Canada and Europe. She is very experimented and in demand for different competitions, such as Prixd’Europe, and the Canada Music competition. Catherine performed chamber music in many Houses of Culture. She toured many times with the SMCQ and they merited the Opus Price for the Bouba show. She has a master's in piano from Montreal University and she studied in Graz, Austria. More
See Press Kit for Full Press & Repertoire

Music Samples

Follow The Artist

Listed as: Piano, Classical
Share by: