Johanne Perron

Perron, Johanne

Johanne Perron. Cellist, teacher, b Chicoutimi, Que, 13 Apr 1959; premier prix chamber music (CMQ) 1977, premier prix cello (CMQ) 1978, M MUS (Yale) 1981. She studied cello and piano at the Conservatoire de Chicoutimi 1967-72, then at the CMQ 1972-8, where she worked with Pierre Morin (cello) and Jean-Louis Rousseau (chamber music). She continued her training at the Yale U School of Music in New Haven, Conn 1979-81 with Aldo Parisot, becoming his assistant, and then at the Juilliard School in New York 1982-3 with Leonard Rose. In 1976 she played with the MSO and two years later won the first competition of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra devoted to strings. In 1982 she won the Prix d'Europe, and the string section in the International Stepping Stones of the Canadian Music Competitions. She has since performed in Canada, Brazil, the USA, and in Europe. She was soloist with the OJQ, NYO, the Quebec SO, and the Lisbon SO, among others. The day following a recital which she had given as part of the series Sons et brioches at the PDA, Gilles Potvin wrote: 'her sonority is unswervingly beautiful and of great fluidity. What is most striking about her are the musical gifts which enable her to phrase with sensitivity and elegance...' (Montreal Le Devoir, 20 Sep 1982). In 1989 she became a teacher at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and at at the Music Academy of the same city, where she also has participated in the Eastern Music Festival.

She married Claudio Jaffé, a cellist, b Sao Paulo, Brazil, 5 Sep 1961; MMA (Yale) 1985, DMA (Yale) 1990. He received his training in Brazil, then in the USA at the invitiation of Aldo Parisot. In 1982 he was a winner of the International Cello Competition in Rio de Janeiro. That year, he and his wife were chosen amongst 12 cellists from different countries to participate in the Piatigorsky Seminar in Los Angeles. They have formed the Duo Cellissimo which has given concerts in Canada and in the USA.