Mirabilia ensemble, co-founded by soprano Myriam Leblanc and flautist Grégoire Jeay, is dedicated to the performance of predominantly baroque music played on period instruments. However, the ensemble occasionally delves into music from earlier eras or explores contemporary works specially arranged for our unique approach. This artistic flexibility gives Mirabilia a vast musical landscape from which to draw, ensuring its ability to connect with audiences of all backgrounds and ages, all while remaining rooted in the realm of classical music.
Adding to the enchantment of Mirabilia is the captivating vocal prowess of soprano Myriam Leblanc, who is rapidly gaining recognition in the Canada’s classical music scene. Her exceptional instrument serves as a dynamic conduit for the compositions of great composers of the past and present alike. Mirabilia, with its adaptable configuration, remains open to collaborations with other musicians. However we intentionally maintain a small ensemble to preserve an intimate atmosphere where each instrument and every voice can directly resonate with the hearts of music enthusiasts.
GRÉGOIRE JEAY, Responsible for programming, flautist and arranger
Baroque flute specialist Grégoire Jeay performs regularly throughout Quebec and Canada, France, Belgium, Mexico, Turkey, England, and the United States. He is recognized for his musicality and expressiveness, and for his sense of ornamentation and improvisation. He also brings his virtuosity on the transverse flute to the recorder and to flutes from various other cultures.
He performs and records regularly with internationally renowned musicians and conductors, including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Clavecin en concert, La Nef, Theatre of Early Music, L’Harmonie des saisons, Les Voix humaines, Myriam Leblanc, Karina Gauvin, Suzie Leblanc, Emma Kirkby, Marie-Josée Lord, Hélène Guilmette, Daniel Taylor, Luc Beauséjour, Sylvain Bergeron, and many others.
In addition to his regular activities as a flutist, Grégoire Jeay composes and arranges for various ensembles such as Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; he also produces music for European and Chinese circuses.
MYRIAM LEBLANC, SOPRANO
The soprano Myriam Leblanc is the recipient of several prizes: first prize and Audience Choice Award at the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra Competition, winner of an Audience Choice Award in the Center Stage competition of the Canadian Opera Company, winner of the excellence grant awarded annually by the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal and the first prize at the Mathieu Duguay Early Music Competition at the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival in 2017. Myriam Leblanc is a versatile artist who works as much in the classical world as in the bel canto, as in the baroque. She is recognized for her timbre of great purity, for her supple and warm voice and her great mastery in both technical and musical expressiveness.
“It’s like a brandy distillate, absolutely transparent … Her name is Myriam Leblanc and in my opinion she has been one of the most beautiful voices, perhaps the most beautiful, to come out of the Quebec breeding ground in the past 10 years …”Christophe Huss, Samedi et rien d’autre, December 2020
She specializes in oratorios and concerts: Requiem by Dompierre (OPCM), La Messe des morts by Gossec (Arion), the Requiem by Mozart (les Violons du Roy), the Messiah by Handel (Tafelmusik), the Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Les Violons du Roy), Bach’s St. John Passion (Tafelmusik), Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus (I Musici), Bach’s Magnificat (Les Violons du Roy), Symphony No. 2 “Lobgesang” by Mendelssohn (Metropolitan Orchestra), several Bach cantatas including Ich habe genug and several other works. At the opera, she shone among others in productions of the Opéra de Montréal (Rigoletto, Svadba, Aida), the OSTR, the OPCM and the Opéra de Québec (Carmen), the Orchester Métropolitain (Parsifal) and L’Ensemble Caprice (Dido et Aeneas).
Formerly a member of the Atelier lyrique of Montreal Opera, Myriam Leblanc has been a guest soloist of prestigious: Montreal Symphonic Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, Tafelmusik, Trois-Rivières Symphonic Orchestra, Québec Symphonic Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphonic Orchestra and Metropolitain Orchestra. She has sung under the baton of renowned conductors such as Bernard Labadie, Hervé Niquet, Rafael Payare, Jacques Lacombe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jonathan Cohen, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Kent Nagano, Ivars Taurins, to name a few.
She also has several recordings to her credit including Amour fou (Ensemble Mirabilia, ATMA 2024), Israel in Egypt (Concert Spirituel, Alpha Classics, 2023), Écho et Narcisse (Concert Spirituel, Château de Versailles, 2022), Le Grazie delle Donne (Ensemble La Cigale, Analekta 2021) as well as Luce e ombra/Vivaldi (Ensemble Mirabilia, Analekta, 2021).