{"id":101128,"date":"2024-01-04T10:24:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T15:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=101128"},"modified":"2024-01-04T10:24:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T15:24:24","slug":"memoriam-canadian-cellist-marcel-saint-cyr-dies-age-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/01\/04\/memoriam-canadian-cellist-marcel-saint-cyr-dies-age-85\/","title":{"rendered":"IN MEMORIAM | Canadian Cellist Marcel Saint-Cyr Dies At Age 85"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L-R: Marcel Saint-Cyr (Photo courtesy of the artist); Franz Joseph String Quartet (Photo courtesy of ATMA Classics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Canadian cellist Marcel Saint-Cyr has died at age 85. The prominent musician and educator, a founding member of the Orford String Quartet, passed away on December 30, 2023 in Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s best known for his work as a cellist, Saint-Cyr also played the viola da gamba and the baryton, and used his influence to encourage the growth of chamber music as an educator.<\/p>\n

Early Years<\/h3>\n

Saint-Cyr was born on May 20, 1938 in Qu\u00e9bec City into a musical family. He began his studies at Le Conservatoire de musique de Qu\u00e9bec, where he won the first prize for cello in 1961, the same year he earned a BA at l\u2019Universit\u00e9 Laval. He went on to study in Paris and Siena, settling at the Staatliche Hochschule f\u00fcr Musik in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1962, and earned a concert diploma there in 1964.<\/p>\n

Perhaps less known is Saint-Cyr\u2019s connection to choral direction. He founded and directed the Jannequin Choir in 1960, and studied conducting in Europe. In 1964, he became the director of the choir at l\u2019Universit\u00e9 Laval.<\/p>\n

The Orford Quartet<\/h3>\n

The Orford String Quartet, with Saint-Cyr as cellist, was founded in 1965. It\u2019s hard to over-emphasize the ensemble\u2019s role in opening up the world to Canadian chamber music, as well as in firmly establishing the string quartet as a major force in Canadian classical music.<\/p>\n

Gilles Lefebvre founded what was then called the Orford Arts Centre in Qu\u00e9bec in 1951. In 1965, violinists Andrew Dawes and Kenneth Perkins came there to study, and their instructor encouraged them to form a string quartet, adding Terence Helmer (viola) and Marcel Saint-Cyr.<\/p>\n

The quartet later found a base in Toronto, where Saint-Cyr also began his teaching career at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. He remained there from 1968 until 1980, when he retired from the Quartet and relocated to Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

The Orford Quartet was among the first Canadian classical music ensembles to reach international acclaim, and put Canadian string quartets on the map. The Orford Quartet won first prize at a competition held by the European Broadcasting Union in 1974, which launched their international reputations.<\/p>\n

In 1978, they received the Canadian Music Council Award for their recording of the Mendelssohn Quartets No. 1 and 2. The quartet performed across the globe, and left a sizable discography.<\/p>\n

Andrew Dawes (Violin 1), Kenneth Perkins (Violin 2), Terrence Helmer (Viola) and Marcel St. Cyr (Cello) perform Beethoven: String Quartet in Bb+, op.18, no.6:<\/p>\n