Heifetz Institute alumna, Tour veteran and HeifetzPEG instructor Noémie Raymond-Friset has been called one of the most promising Canadian cellists of her generation, known for her refined and sensitive playing.

In recognition of her artistry, she was named by CBC Music as one of the “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30.” She was also one of the top prizewinners at the Edwin H. and Leigh W. Schadt String International Competition, the Stepping Stone Competition and the WAMSO Young Artist Competition. At the Prix d’Europe 2014 and 2017, she was awarded the Beatrice Kennedy-Bourbeau Award (Best Interpretation of a Work) and Guy-Soucie Award (Best Interpretation of a Canadian Work). 

Previously, Ms. Raymond-Friset was awarded the First Prize at the “Grand Prize Virtuoso” of England and debuted at the famous Royal Albert Hall of London in December 2016. In addition, Ms. Raymond-Friset has been awarded a professional development grant by the Canada Council for the Arts and was a laureate of the 2015 edition of the Musical Instrument Bank Competition.

 Her Heifetz On Tour performances have aired several times across the nation via APM’s Performance Today. Ms. Raymond-Friset took part in the XVIII Chamber Music Festival in Lima (Peru) and was previously invited by the Musical Corporation of Viña del Mar to perform in La Calera (Chile) as part of an introductory program to classical music for young students. In Canada, her appearances include recitals at the Lanaudière International Music Festival, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Les Concerts de la Chapelle and the Orford International Music Festival. In June 2016, she recorded the Prokofiev Cello Sonata for CBC (Radio-Canada) with pianist Lysandre Ménard and was heard soon after on ICI Musique and CBC Radio.

As a soloist, she was invited to perform with the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Francophonie Orchestra, the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra, the Mansfield Orchestra, the Carlos Costa Chamber Orchestra, the Agora Symphony Orchestra, the Montérégie Youth Orchestra and the Montreal Conservatory of Music Orchestra with whom she performed a cello arrangement of Sarasate’s famous violin piece Zigeunerweisen. She was also invited to play the solo cello part in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins and Cello with Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Center Orchestra, the maestro himself playing the first violin.

Ms. Raymond-Friset had the chance to work with many internationally renowned cellists. In 2014, Noémie performed in a master class led by Yo-Yo Ma at Claude-Champagne Hall in front of an audience of more than 1000 people, a performance that was warmly acclaimed by the public and described as a “beautiful and sensitive performance” – The Scena Musicale. She also worked with Lynn Harell, Philippe Müller, Ralph Kirshbaum, Garry Hoffman, Johannes Moser, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Richard Aaron, Raphael Wallfish, Andreas Diaz, Paul Katz, Michel Strauss, Colin Carr and Laurence Lesser.

Comfortable under the spotlight, Noémie acted as Ambassador of the New England Conservatory at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale Festival in 2014 and has served as an Ambassador for the Orford International Academy between 2015 and 2017.

Ms. Raymond-Friset is also an accomplished and experienced educator. Currently Steve Doane’s Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music, she is pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts and has previously earned a Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory and the University of Montreal, respectively. During her studies at the New England Conservatory, she was awarded one of the coveted Community Performances and Partnerships Program Fellowship, for which she presented recitals throughout the city of Boston and its surrounding areas to promote classical music in the community.

Noémie plays the beautiful “ex-Curtis’ cello made by Matteo Goffriller, dating from 1700. She also owns a beautiful Jean-Dominique Adam bow from 1835.