Additional Information
Quasar’s first concert was given in November 1994, 30 years ago, 31 in two months. At the end of its 2024-25 season and at the dawn of its 2025-26 season, shortly before the saxophone quartet’s Montreal return to the Wilder on September 18 alongside the Basque trio Zukan, PAN M 360 suggested a retrospective interview to its members, in order to highlight this excellent ensemble, a bearer of creative music throughout the world and a promoter of our composers.
PAN M 360: The Quasar Quartet is celebrating its 30th anniversary. This has included several notable events for your 24-25 season. Which ones do each of you think they are?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: We kicked off the 2024-25 season with a fantastic tour of Lithuania and Sweden in the fall. The reunion with the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet here in Quebec, Sweden, for Project Saxoctet was memorable. In fact, the entire season was based on international exchanges, with Sweden (Saxoctet), Lithuania (Automn Festival), and Germany (aDevantgarde Festival). And above all, 11 premieres of works by composers from Quebec and the countries mentioned above. Eleven premieres that represent as many significant encounters with composers with whom we have had the pleasure of working.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Phew! It’s been a busy season marked by international collaborations.
October 2024. First, a fantastic tour of Lithuania and Sweden in October; meeting composers, premiering new works, meeting new audiences, all under the banner of friendship and collaboration. In Sweden, we shared the stage with our friends from the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet with the “Saxoctet” project. A few weeks later, the “Saxoctet” project continued in Quebec with a three-concert tour, starting at the beautiful Bourgie Hall in Montreal and then Chicoutimi and Quebec City.
March 2025: Everything that scares me…, this production, which took place at the Espace Bleu du Wilder, was the Montreal revival of the concert presented in Lithuania in October. Three powerful works by Lithuanian composers and one by a Ukrainian composer. It was a significant and memorable artistic encounter.
May 2025: Third international encounter, and no less significant: Montreal-Munich. Six creations by three Quebec composers and three Bavarians. A big program, as they say, but how enriching! And the good news is, we’re reprising this program in Munich.
July 2025: Three major international collaboration projects, twenty-five concerts in Quebec, not to mention masterclasses, and film presentations. In short, a fantastically busy season.
PAN M 360: 30 years and the same alignment. We also imagine that friendship still reigns!
Marie-Chantal Leclair: Friendship, a deep attachment, even love, I would say!
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Gilles Vigneault said that “a friendship that ends is a friendship that never existed.” Friendship is alive, it constantly evolves, it adapts, it requires generosity and commitment. Yes, friendship always reigns.
Mathieu Leclair: Yes, of course, there were some heated discussions at times, but apparently we handled it well. Friendship and the pleasure of playing together are paramount, and that’s probably why we’re still together after 30 years.
André Leroux: Friendship and family spirit merge and evolve, swinging towards each other. In the end, despite differences and minor conflicts, we rely on the feeling of belonging to something greater than each of us and we remember the main reasons that motivate us.
PAN M 360: Could each of you share your thoughts on why you are a quartet?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: Creating works is our driving force, and it has always been since Concert 1 in 1994. Our process has evolved over time, but the mission hasn’t changed. Exploration, laboratory work, and the performer-composer tandem are at the heart of our approach. Sharing them with the audience, the stage, is also very important, and it gives meaning to all this work.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Our raison d’être is a project: to create an original repertoire for our ensemble by working closely with composers of all generations, from here and elsewhere. To reach out to the public, to constantly offer the best of ourselves. To play music! To create an atmosphere that takes you on a journey and redefines the composer’s intention in an authentic way. The impression of being a soloist and in a group gives a powerful result.
Mathieu Leclair: Everyone contributes in their own way to moving the project forward, with their strengths, skills, and expertise. I think there’s a certain complementarity between the four members of the quartet, which allows everyone to find their place.
PAN M 360: Remind us of the first steps of Quasar
Marie-Chantal Leclair: I remember very well that first concert held on November 26, 1994, presented by Codes d’accès at the Monument National. It was a defining moment, our entry onto the Montreal new music scene. It gave us a tremendous boost. Our participation in the Gaudeamus Competition-Festival in Rotterdam in 1996 was also important because it opened us up to the world (pre-internet era, we will remember!). In the same vein, our participation in the Présence Festival in Paris in 1999 with the SMCQ was significant and marked the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration with the SMCQ, which continues today.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Since college, I have been passionate about the saxophone quartet, the sound, the power, the intimate character of this group. It was like love at first sight and I still love this group which offers so many possibilities of timbres, nuances, colors etc…
Mathieu Leclair: A quartet project and an opportunity to present a concert (with Codes d’accès on November 25, 1994 at the Monument National). After that, things happened one after the other, slowly at first, but ultimately took up quite a bit of time. Over the years, we noticed that the summer vacation period was getting shorter.
PANM 360: How did each of you join the quartet?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: It was Jean-Marc (Bouchard) and I who initiated the quartet project, which Mathieu (Leclair) naturally joined. Since André and Jean-Marc studied at the same time, it was through this relationship that Jean-Marc recruited André (Leroux), so to speak.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Marie-Chantal and I first formed a quartet with two university colleagues. The lineup changed when Mathieu became a member of the group. And then, finally, André joined us for the concert on November 25, 1994, replacing our tenor at the time. We’ve been together ever since! It’s been 30 years now.
André Leroux: Jean-Marc and I played in a quartet for 5 years at St-Laurent and at UdM until 1987. We developed a connection, having even been roommates… We met again around a pool table a few years later and I mentioned to him that I missed playing in the 4th. He told me at the end of the evening that it hadn’t fallen on deaf ears…
Mathieu Leclair: It’s a family affair, so my sister (Marie-Chantal), her boyfriend (Jean-Marc), and I were already quite close. André joined us for the first concert and he stayed!
PAN M 360: Family History! Spouses, brother, sister, and André. What more can be said about this relationship?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: Family history, certainly, many shared moments, moments of joy, more difficult moments too, it’s part of the “game”, but always this resilience, and strong bonds.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: They say that family businesses are the ones that last. This seems to be true in our case.
Mathieu Leclair: In fact, it’s a fairly classic story in both the cultural and business worlds (Steinberg, Ricardo Cuisine, Molson, there are many examples in Quebec!). Why change a winning formula?
André Leroux: Resilience and acceptance of our differences, as in any good family.
PAN M 360: What do each of you consider to be your own unique qualities as a performer within the quartet?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: I think I’m very committed when I play. I love playing! Also, I have a great attention to detail, to respecting the score. I can linger for a long time on the end of a phrase, to get the perfect sound, to work on the group attacks, the entrances. I listen very attentively. A bit of a maniac…
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Unconditional commitment. I always aim to do better, telling myself that if I do better, the whole team will do better.
André Leroux: Versatility and my adaptability; having worked as a freelancer in all musical spheres (or almost…), several reflexes in terms of aesthetics, rhythm and stage contexts seem natural, like a certain déjà vu.
Mathieu Leclair: Rigor and hard work. Presenting the various works on the program requires essential qualities. And teamwork.
PAN M 360: How do you handle the artistic direction and the selection of works for your programs? Does an artistic director decide after brainstorming? How does it work between the members and their artistic director?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: I am officially the artistic director. I make choices and proposals based on what I want for the quartet, but also based on a desire to serve and contribute to the new music community. I try to develop a program that is stimulating for the community and the public. All of these decisions are based on my life with the other members of the quartet.
It’s together that we’ve evolved aesthetically, developed the group’s sound, and its technical and expressive abilities, and it’s together that we meet the composers. Although they’re not part of the quartet, they’re part of our experience, our life. For me, it’s going well, I let the others answer! As Jean-Marc (baritone sax) is also my partner, we have a lot of artistic discussions, let’s say we bring work home… These exchanges have a great influence on my artistic choices.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: The artistic director is Marie-Chantal, there’s no doubt about it. Making artistic choices means having antennas, always being on the lookout, constantly informing yourself. It requires very specific qualities and she is gifted in this area. In addition to artistic direction, there is production, administration, work organization, communications. In short, everyone has plenty to keep them busy.
André Leroux: All members have their say on the pieces in the programs, but the artistic director of each program decides after some consultation.
Mathieu Leclair: We have a strong artistic director, and we get on board. Then we row everyone together to make sure we arrive safely. The artistic projects are daring, and the composers often challenge us. I’m thinking in particular of our latest projects, such as Chaleurs (Walter Boudreau), Thierry Tidrow’s musical theater, or “classics” such as Licks & Brains (Klas Tortensson) or Xas (Iannis Xenakis).
PAN M 360: Can we talk about cycles in the evolution of Quasar over 30 years?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: Yes, absolutely! However, the quartet’s main focus has always been new music and creation. When we started, we were four very young, recently graduated musicians with a lot of determination but very little experience, of course. Our processes have become much more refined, particularly with regard to supporting creation. This began in the early 2000s with the first edition of the Electro series, where we organized a first series of research and creation workshops with composers well in advance of the concerts. This marked a turning point in our way of working, and it now applies to practically all projects. Workshops and creative residencies are at the heart of our practice. Another cycle is that of developing the international component. This began with a first tour in 2006 and, since 2018, has also included co-productions, co-commissions, and exchanges, and it is very stimulating.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: Nothing comes to mind on this subject. I rather have the impression that things are moving forward inexorably. There are always new works to perform. We are constantly meeting new people. We are visiting new countries. In short, we are moving forward.
Mathieu Leclair: I think there’s more of a constant evolution. Today we have more resources and it’s possible to plan projects over a longer period. Although it’s not necessarily “easier,” we have experience that facilitates the implementation and realization of projects. Whether they’re large-scale projects, with other artists, tours…
André Leroux: Pouvez-vous répéter la question?
PAN M 360: What do you consider to be the most significant programs in your history?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: Licks & Brains, Chaleurs, Entre Nous, Ode au métal.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: The complete triptych Licks & Brains, by Swedish composer Klas Torstenson with the SMCQ ensemble and Walter Boudreau in 2003. And most recently the premiere of Chaleurs by Walter Boudreau, a colossal 50-minute work premiered on February 26, 2021 at the Pierre-Mercure Hall in Montreal. There have been many others…
André Leroux: Klaus Torstenson/SMCQ for the immensity of the challenge that brought us to the Conzert Geb in Amsterdam, Bach to Zappa for the travels and the diversity of the audiences, Chaleurs by Boudreau during the pandemic…
Mathieu Leclair: The first concert at the Monument National on November 25, 1994, the most stressful concert of my life. I almost wished for a car accident on the way to the concert hall to avoid it. My first trip to Europe for the Gaudeamus competition in Rotterdam. Wow, the Amsterdam train station. In short: Électrochocs (January 24, 2003 / start of a concert series that is still going); From Bach to Zappa, our classic, our Broue; Chaleurs; Entre nous; our collaborations with the Stockholm saxophone quartet, Licks & Brains with the entire SMCQ: A fire alarm during the intermission just before the big part with the whole ensemble. We came close to not playing in concert this undoubtedly significant work of these 30 years!
PAN M 360: What are each of you most proud of having accomplished in this quartet?
Marie-Chantal Leclair: What makes me most proud is the artistic project we carried out and realized. The new repertoire, carried by a collaborative process which, I humbly believe, has inspired others to work in this way. And ultimately to have contributed to positioning Montreal, Quebec, as a creative hub for music creation on an international scale.
Jean-Marc Bouchard: I am proud that we are still here, the same four people and still so committed to this magnificent project.
Mathieu Leclair: Building a long-term artistic project. A project that has resonated both in Montreal and abroad.
André Leroux: To inspire young artists to persevere and believe in their own voice, however marginal it may be.
PAN M 360: And there you have it! Your 30th anniversary is making a lasting impression on music lovers in Quebec! Thank you so much for your excellence and commitment.
NEXT QUASAR CONCERT, BROADCAST BY LE VIVIER AT THE WILDER, SEPTEMBER 18
