Canada's Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal has announced the appointment of eight new faculty members, including six string players. All eight new appointments will step into their new roles in August 2026.

They are violinists Josée Aidans, Marcelle Mallette, Jean-Sébastien Roy, and Guillaume Villeneuve; cellists Mariève Bock, and Anna Burden; and pianists Mehdi Ghazi and Serhiy Salov.

A laureate of the Canadian Music Competition and the Radio-Canada Young Artists Competition, violinist Josée Aidans has previously been assistant concertmaster of Ensemble Amati, and appeared as a freelance musician for artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Céline Dion, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, Josh Groban, and Rod Stewart.

A past student of Josef Gingold, Marcelle Mallette has appeared as concertmaster with the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, the Orchestre des Jeunes du Québec, and the Auckland Philharmonia, as well as associate concertmaster with the Orchestre Métropolitain.

Violinist Jean-Sébastien Roy has been concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony and McGill Chamber orchestras, guest concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Royal Swedish Opera orchestras, and is presently first assistant of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s first violin section. He was also the winner of the 2006 Prix d’Europe.

A founding member of the Cobalt Quartet and concertmaster of the Galileo Orchestra, Guillaume Villeneuve has been guest concertmaster of the Ottawa Baroque Consort, Ensemble Caprice, and Antiphona, and has led the second violin section of the Harmonie des Saisons.

A past student of Denis Brott and Norman Fischer, cellist Mariève Bock has attended the Tanglewood Music Center’s summer sessions, and has appeared as a soloist with Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal.

Anna Burden has played in the cello sections of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Peninsula Music Festival, and as associate principal cellist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra since 2011. She also teaches at McGill and Montreal universities.

"The arrival of these eight professors marks an important step for the Montreal Conservatoire de Musique," said Luc Chaput, director of the Conservatoire. "Their artistic excellence and their pedagogical commitment will help inspire the next generation of musicians."