Music Director
Recognized for her energy, precision and versatility, Dina Gilbert brings great passion to the orchestral repertoire, and is also dedicated to conducting new commissions and works by Canadian composers. A native of Québec, Dina Gilbert is the founder and artistic director of Ensemble Arkea, a Montreal-based professional chamber orchestra that presents innovative interpretation of orchestral music.
From 2013 to 2016, Dina Gilbert was assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Kent Nagano. In this position, she conducted several rehearsals and concerts and she assisted Maestro Kent Nagano at all rehearsals, concerts, recordings and tours of the orchestra, as well as assisting guest conductors including Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington, Lawrence Foster and Giancarlo Guerrero. In April 2016, she received great acclaim for stepping in to replace Maestro Alain Altinoglu with the OSM in a program showcasing Gustav Holst's The Planets.
In July 2016, she made her debut with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in a Hip Hop Symphonic program with the renowned artists MC Solaar, I AM, Youssoupha, Arsenik et Bigflo & Oli. Back in Québec, she conducted the world premiere of the film The Red Violin, with orchestra and soloist Lara St. John at the Festival de Lanaudière.
Over the last years, Dina Gilbert has conducted numerous orchestras in Canada including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa and the Orchestre Métropolitain. She also has collaborated many times with young Canadian composers, premiering over thirty works and has also conducted studio recordings for films and video games soundtracks.
Overseas she has conducted in Romania, Estonia, France, Germany, and China. Last season, she made her debut in the United States with the Eugene Symphony (Oregon) and the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra (North Carolina). Dina Gilbert also made her debut in Japan, conducting a series of 5 concerts in Niigita and Tokyo in April and May 2017.
In 2017-2018, Dina Gilbert will begin her new tenure as Music Director of the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of the 2017-2018 season include debut with the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra National de Lyon, as well as reinvitations to conduct the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France. Dina Gilbert is also Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de l'Estuaire, based in Rimouski (Québec).
Dina Gilbert earned a doctorate from the Université de Montréal, where she studied with Jean-François Rivest and Paolo Bellomia. She is also the holder of a Bachelor's degree in clarinet performance and a Master's in conducting. During her doctoral studies she was awarded a grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture. She has also received support from the Canada Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and from the Père-Lindsay Foundation.
Read Dina's blog posts.