The Majestic Organ Symphony by Saint-Saëns

Rafael Payare’s prodigious musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic presence on the podium have made him one of the world’s most sought-after conductors. A graduate of the celebrated El Sistema music education program in Venezuela, Mr. Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. Since winning the prestigious Malko International Competition for Young Conductors in Denmark in 2012, Maestro Payare’s career has advanced rapidly. Since 2015, he has served as Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival, founded by his mentor the late Lorin Maazel. He was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 to 2019 and in 2019, took up the position of Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. In recent years, Rafael Payare has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including those of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, London, Munich, Chicago and Paris. He has also made important opera debuts at the Glyndebourne Festival, Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, and most recently at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In the 2022-2023 season, Payare became the ninth Music Director in the history of the OSM.

To consult:
rafaelpayare.com
Long biography

Originally from South Korea and now living in Paris, Shin-Young Lee completed advanced studies with Tong-Soon Kwak, Jean-Paul Imbert, Michel Bouvard, Olivier Latry, and Jean Guillou. A regular of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and renowned places of worship such as Notre-Dame de Paris, Geneva Cathedral, the University of Pretoria and St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, she is the guest of major organ festivals including those of Chartres, Harlem and Toulouse les Orgues. She performs with orchestras, regularly sits on competition juries and gives masterclasses internationally. Her recordings include Transprovisations on the organ of Munich’s Michaelskirche, and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring for organ four hands with Olivier Latry.
Shin-Young Lee is the author of several commissioned and freelance organ transcriptions. Most recently, she transcribed Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals for the renowned publisher Schott.

In 2010, Isabelle Demers performed a recital for the 2010 International Society of Organbuilders/American Institute of Organbuilders Convention which “left the entire congress in an atmosphere of ‘Demers fever.’’’ This impact continues unabated, close to 15 years later. With her “bracing virtuosity” (Chicago Classical Review) and “fearless and extraordinary” artistic personality (Amarillo-Globe News), she has enraptured critics, presenters, and audience members around the globe with spellbinding performances. Her acclaimed recordings on the Acis and Pro Organo labels have been heralded as “expressive … profound and searching” (RSCM, Church Music Quarterly). Born in Québec and a graduate of The Juilliard School, Dr. Demers is Associate Professor of Organ at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. 

Jean-Willy Kunz, Organist-in-Residence with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, is responsible for the development and enhancement of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique. He has performed as a soloist with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Les Violons du Roy and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and has premiered works by significant composers. Owing to his various interests, Jean-Willy Kunz is involved in numerous projects that bring a fresh perspective to the organ: jazz with saxophonist Branford Marsalis; pop with Pierre Lapointe; stage music with Cirque du Soleil; contemporary music with Quatuor Bozzini; or Baroque music with Ensemble Caprice. His discography includes several recordings that demonstrate the versatility of his musical influences, notably Symphonie et créations for organ and orchestra with the OSM (Juno award, 2016). Jean-Willy Kunz is Professor of Organ at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and Artistic Director of the Canadian International Organ Competition. 

Regarded as one of the world’s foremost ambassadors of the organ, Olivier Latry has performed on the most prestigious stages worldwide, among others as a guest of major orchestras under renowned conductors. He has recorded with several prominent labels and premiered an impressive number of new works. Appointed titular organist of Notre-Dame de Paris’ Grandes Orgues at age 23 following a competitive examination, he has also been named Organist Emeritus of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Above all, he is an accomplished, thoughtful, and adventurous musician who explores all possible fields of his instrument. Olivier Latry will also serve as Organist-in-Residence of the Dresden Philharmonic in 2025–2026. A professor of organ at the Conservatoire de Paris until June 2024, he currently serves as William T. Kemper Artist-in-Residence at the University of Kansas School of Music in Lawrence, Kansas.