Biography
Founder and Artistic Director of the renowned Montreal Chamber Music Festival (1995) and Professor of Cello & Chamber Music and Conductor of the Grand Orchestre à cordes at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (1989), Denis Brott is recognized internationally as one of Canada’s finest musicians.
Performance
Denis Brott’s concert tours have taken him to four continents as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He was cellist in the Orford String Quartet for almost a decade during which time he recorded 25 discs including the complete string quartets of Beethoven, which won the Grand Prix du Disque Award and two Juno Awards for Best Chamber Ensemble Classical Recording. The quartet was named one of the top ten Canadian classical ensembles of the 20th century. He has also appeared as guest artist with numerous world-renowned ensembles including the Guarneri, Emerson, Tokyo, Fine Arts and Dover Quartets.
Awards
Denis Brott is the recipient of the Great Montrealer Award and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his cultural contribution to Canada. In 2014, Canada’s Governor General David Johnston bestowed upon him the Order of Canada for his outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. In December 2016, Denis Brott was invested into the Order of Montreal for his notable contribution to the international reputation of Montreal and his exemplary commitment to the community.
Education
Denis Brott studied at the Juilliard School, Indiana University and the University of Southern California. The list of his teachers includes some of the world’s finest cellists: Leonard Rose, Janos Starker, and Gregor Piatigorsky.
Competitions
At a young age, Denis won a succession of competitions, including the Washington D.C. Merriweather Post Competition, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, the Los Angeles Young Musicians Foundation Debut Award and the Munich International Cello Competition.
Jury Member
Denis Brott has been a jury member for numerous distinguished international competitions including the Munich Cello and String Quartet Competitions and the Banff and Evian String Quartet Competitions.
Project Creator
Denis Brott played a pivotal role in the creation of the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank (MIB) (1985) raising funds with William Turner to secure the first instrument in the bank, a magnificent 1706 David Tecchler cello. For this accomplishment the MIB awarded him the instrument for his lifetime use naming it the Brott-Turner Tecchler in his and Mr. Turner’s honour.
Executive Producer
Since 2020, Denis has produced 21 videos as Executive Producer and launched a series of free Health and Wellness concerts for patients, and health care workers at CHUM.
Guest Teaching
Since the fall of 2018, Denis has been visiting professor with the Nederlandse Strijkkwartet Academie (NSKA) in Amsterdam giving classes in string quartet performance. In 2023 he is an invited guest teacher of cello and chamber music at the Royal College of Musicin London, England and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He will give masterclasses at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna on March 30th and 31st and participate in Quartet Days Symposium on April 1st Quartet Days at the Eisenstadt Castle. From July 3rd to 10th he will be guest cellist at the Sitka International Cello Seminar and in September 2023 he will give a Beethoven Seminar at the Yonsei University School of Music, Seoul, Korea
Montreal Chamber Music Festival
In June 2023, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, which Denis Brott founded in 1995, celebrates 28 years of concert giving.