× Upcoming Events Our Musicians Keeping You Safe Your At-Concert Guide Thank You to Our Donors Symphony Nova Scotia Foundation Land Acknowledgement Past Events
Home Our Musicians Keeping You Safe Your At-Concert Guide Thank You to Our Donors Symphony Nova Scotia Foundation Land Acknowledgement
Blake Pouliot
violin

Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned” (ArtsAtlanta), violinist Blake Pouliot has anchored himself among the ranks of classical phenoms. A tenacious young artist with a passion that enraptures his audience in every performance, Blake has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star).

Blake embarks on a fulfilling 2021/22 season that includes debuts with the Boise Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Plano Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and Winnipeg Symphony; return engagements with the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Naples, Nova Scotia, and Tallahassee; recitals in Sarasota, Miami, and his Philadelphia debut; and touring the works of Beethoven as returning Artist-in-Residence with NPR’s Performance Today throughout Europe.

In the 2020/21 season, Blake was the Artist-in-Residence at Orchestre Métropolitain, deepening his relationship with the orchestra’s Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, across a series of concerts and recorded projects. He was also seen in performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, Reno Chamber Orchestra, and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He curated and led chamber music programs presented by the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and Artis-Naples, and made his return to La Jolla Music Society SummerFest. A prolific recitalist and chamber musician who has performed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, Rockport, and Toronto, Blake was joined by pianist Hsing-I Huang at McGill University, University of Toronto, and the new RISE series in Miami.
 
Blake's debut album, released on Analekta Records in 2019, features the works of Ravel and Debussy, and earned a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine, as well as a 2019 JUNO Award nomination for Best Classical Album. Adding to his accolades that year, Blake won both the Career Development Award from the Women’s Club of Toronto and the Virginia Parker Prize Career Grant from the Canada Arts Council. He has been featured twice on Rob Kapilow’s What Makes it Great? series, and was NPR’s Performance Today Artist-in-Residence for the 2017/18 season in Minnesota and the 2018/19 season in Hawaii. In 2016, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition.

Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Blake has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first-ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has collaborated with many musical luminaries, including conductors Sir Neville Marriner, David Afkham, Pablo Heras Casado, David Danzmyer, JoAnn Falletta, Marcelo Lehninger, Nicolas McGegan, Alexander Prior, Vasily Petrenko, and Thomas Sondergard.

Blake studied violin in Canada with Marie Berard and Erika Raum, and completed his training as an associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He graduated from the Colburn School Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Lipsett, the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair. Blake performs on a 1729 Guarneri del Gesù, on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank as First Laureate of both their 2018 and 2015 Competition.

Blake Pouliot
violin

Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned” (ArtsAtlanta), violinist Blake Pouliot has anchored himself among the ranks of classical phenoms. A tenacious young artist with a passion that enraptures his audience in every performance, Blake has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star).

Blake embarks on a fulfilling 2021/22 season that includes debuts with the Boise Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Plano Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and Winnipeg Symphony; return engagements with the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Naples, Nova Scotia, and Tallahassee; recitals in Sarasota, Miami, and his Philadelphia debut; and touring the works of Beethoven as returning Artist-in-Residence with NPR’s Performance Today throughout Europe.

In the 2020/21 season, Blake was the Artist-in-Residence at Orchestre Métropolitain, deepening his relationship with the orchestra’s Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, across a series of concerts and recorded projects. He was also seen in performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, Reno Chamber Orchestra, and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He curated and led chamber music programs presented by the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and Artis-Naples, and made his return to La Jolla Music Society SummerFest. A prolific recitalist and chamber musician who has performed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, Rockport, and Toronto, Blake was joined by pianist Hsing-I Huang at McGill University, University of Toronto, and the new RISE series in Miami.
 
Blake's debut album, released on Analekta Records in 2019, features the works of Ravel and Debussy, and earned a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine, as well as a 2019 JUNO Award nomination for Best Classical Album. Adding to his accolades that year, Blake won both the Career Development Award from the Women’s Club of Toronto and the Virginia Parker Prize Career Grant from the Canada Arts Council. He has been featured twice on Rob Kapilow’s What Makes it Great? series, and was NPR’s Performance Today Artist-in-Residence for the 2017/18 season in Minnesota and the 2018/19 season in Hawaii. In 2016, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition.

Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Blake has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first-ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has collaborated with many musical luminaries, including conductors Sir Neville Marriner, David Afkham, Pablo Heras Casado, David Danzmyer, JoAnn Falletta, Marcelo Lehninger, Nicolas McGegan, Alexander Prior, Vasily Petrenko, and Thomas Sondergard.

Blake studied violin in Canada with Marie Berard and Erika Raum, and completed his training as an associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He graduated from the Colburn School Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Lipsett, the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair. Blake performs on a 1729 Guarneri del Gesù, on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank as First Laureate of both their 2018 and 2015 Competition.