I actively promote Symphony New Brunswick's artistic excellence and enjoy contributing to the richness of its vision. I am driven by the idea of participating in our future by exploring new horizons while upholding the orchestra’s traditions.

Mélanie Léonard
Music Director

Symphony New Brunswick is the province’s professional orchestra.

Symphony NB operates the province's only full-scale, full-season professional orchestra. It works in tandem with several affiliated smaller ensembles, including the Saint John String Quartet, the wind quintet Ventus Machina, and Résonance New Music. Through top-notch performances, educational programs, and community partnerships, Symphony NB promotes the awareness and appreciation of symphonic music in an increasingly diverse New Brunswick.

Meet our Core Musicians

  • Danielle Sametz

    Principal Violin
    Concertmaster

  • Nadia Francavilla

    Principal Second Violin Miles and Eunice Kierstead Memorial Chair

  • Christopher Buckley

    (On leave)
    Principal Viola
    The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Chair

  • Auditions taking place in 24/25

    Principal Cello
    BMO Financial Group Endowed Chair

  • Andrew Reed Miller

    Principal Bass

  • Joël Cormier

    Principal Timpani
    Philip W. Oland Memorial Chair

Additional Endowed Chairs

Second Chair First Violin
Dr Tom Condon Memorial Chair

Second Chair Second Violin
Li-Hong Xu Memorial Chair

Principal Bassoon
Pannell Family Endowed Chair

Second Chair Cello
The Tom & Lisa Gribbons Endowed Chair

Section Cello
The Marion Isabel Pedersen & Sister Marie Estelle Memorial Chair

Principal Clarinet
In Honour of Suzanne Farrer Irving

Section Viola
Reid & Jaqueline Parker Endowed Chair

Principal Trumpet
Wallace, Norma and John MacMurray Memorial Chair

Second Trumpet
The Saint Mary’s Band and Bruce Holder Jr. Memorial Chair

About Musical Director
Mélanie Léonard

Born in Montreal, Mélanie Léonard was most recently the music director of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. She has also been resident conductor and associate conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

She was invited to conduct at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and several Canadian orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Edmonton, Regina, Calgary and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras and Symphony Nova Scotia.

Maestra Léonard has recorded soundtracks for Aura at Montréal’s Notre-Dame Basilica; Land of Fantasy, a Cirque du Soleil show presented in Hangzhou, China; and Paradise City, an immersive multimedia universe in South Korea.

Mélanie Léonard was the first woman to complete a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the University of Montreal. In 2012, she received the Jean-Marie Baudet Prize in orchestral conducting awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts.