Described as a violinist with ‘chops to burn, and rock-solid musicianship’ (The Whole Note, Toronto), Canadian Véronique Mathieu enjoys an exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator. Recent engagements have taken her throughout Europe and Asia, and her CD ARGOT was recently featured on a BBC series dedicated to the music of Lutoslawski. Recent highlights include the Canadian premiere of Marc-André Dalbavie’s violin concerto with the Esprit Orchestra, a performance of John Corigliano’s Chaconne during the composer’s 80th birthday celebrations, and the release of a second CD with pianist Stephanie Chua.
Véronique has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Asia, Europe, South Africa, South America, and the United States. She is a prizewinner of the 2012 Eckhardt-Gramatté Contemporary Music Competition, the 2010 Krakow International Contemporary Music Competition, and a three-time winner of the Canada Council Instrument Bank Competition. Previously serving on the faculty at the University of Kansas and State University of New York in Buffalo, Ms. Mathieu serves as Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Saskatchewan where she holds the David L. Kaplan Chair in Music.
An avid contemporary music performer, Véronique has worked with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Heinz Holliger, and Krzysztof Penderecki and commissioned and premiered works by American, Brazilian, and Canadian composers. Current projects include the commission of a large-scale solo violin work by Odawa First Nations composer Barbara Croall and a set of 12 pedagogical pieces written in collaboration with 12 renowned composers with the support of the SSHRC and the Canada Council for the Arts. Véronique has recorded for New Music at Indiana University, Radio-Canada, Centrediscs, PARMA, Naxos, and Pheromone and has performed as soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Shenyang Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Oakville Symphony Orchestra, the Filarmonica de Americana, Kokomo Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and the Montreal Contemporary Ensemble. She has given solo performances in China, Georgia, Italy, Vietnam, as well as world premieres of works by Brian Harman and Adam Scime. Her debut CD of solo works by Boulez, Donatoni, and Lutoslawski was praised as a recording of “outstanding violin playing” and “stunning [performance] with amazing technique” and following the release of her 3rd solo CD (Cortège), she was a finalist in the Classical Artist/Ensemble of the Year category at the Western Canadian Music Awards.
Véronique won many prizes in Canada before completing her bachelor’s degree at the Québec Conservatory. She obtained an Artist Diploma for outstanding achievement in violin performance from McGill University as a student of Denise Lupien, where she was also awarded the Ethel J. Ivey Award, and the Lloyd Carr Harris Scholarship. Véronique completed a Performance Diploma and a master’s degree at Indiana University with Professor Miriam Fried while working as an Associate Instructor in violin. She later completed a Doctor of Music degree in violin performance at the same institution under the guidance of Mark Kaplan and was a fellow at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto.
