Florence Laurain
2nd flute at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Custom 14K, Gold 14k toneholes, Silver MECHANISM, Inline G, B Footjoint Purchased at FLAUTISSIMO, GENEVA
Listed in CBC Music's 2024 list of the "30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30", Florence Laurain has been attracting attention since her arrival as 2nd flute at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO/OSM) two years ago and by the fact that she continues to take on challenges by participating in solo competitions such as the Prix d'Europe where she won three prizes in June 2024, by giving chamber music performances such as Mozart quartets for flute and string trio including a pre-concert performance at the OSM during the Mozart festival and by teaching, because one of her goals that is closest to her heart is to be able to give back to the future generation of musicians.
After completing two Collegial diplomas, one in pure sciences at Cégep de Saint-Laurent and the other in flute interpretation at the Montreal Conservatory of Music in the class of Marie-Andrée Benny, Florence continued her studies at the Conservatoire for her BAC and, after that, she perfected her skills at the Haute école de musique of Geneva in the class of Jacques Zoon in a Master's degree specialized in orchestra. This program also allowed her to be an intern, that is to say to be able to play with professional orchestras in Geneva such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed with other ensembles in the region such as the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie and the Ensemble Microcosme. In addition, Florence has been a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, an orchestra bringing together talented young musicians from around the world, on several occasions. She therefore had the chance to play under the baton of conductors such as Klaus Mäkelä, Simon Rattle, Lahav Shani and Charles Dutoit.
Florence also had the opportunity to have private classes with Emmanuel Pahud, internationally renowned soloist, and Julien Beaudiment, professor at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Lyon, during an advanced level course at the Domaine Forget academy. Previously, she had also attended several masterclasses from other great flute masters such as Robert Langevin, Mathieu Dufour, Leone Buyse, Ransom Wilson, Michael Cox, Rachel Brown, etc., through her studies and courses at Orford Musique and Domaine Forget.
Among her other accomplishments, Florence has been invited to play with the Pentaèdre woodwind quintet, the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC) in Ottawa and she was a semi-finalist in the OSM Soloist Competition in 2020 and won the Orford Music Prize. She also performed a concerto twice during her final year of high school at Joseph-François-Perrault High School, where she was studying in the Art-Study Music and International programs.
Over the past year, Florence has been featured in press articles such as "L’ école qui donne" by Josée Lapointe in La Presse last January, "Émotions fortes pour les nouveaux visages de l’OSM" by Christophe Huss in Le Devoir, and, most recently, the latter mentioned Florence in an article about the Ravel concerto given in concert at the OSM where she played first flute, describing her playing as "impeccable stylistic intonation, […] with a certain emotional distance, but magnificent color."