M Gillian Carrabré (BMus, MMus, PhD)

Violinist, M Gillian Carrabré, has cultivated a diverse career that includes traditional and Suzuki method teaching experience as well as diverse performance work in popular and classical music projects. A graduate of performance programs at Mount Royal University (Dip.), McGill University (BMus), and the University of Ottawa (MMus) respectively, Ms. Carrabré received her PhD in Musicology from the University of Western Ontario in 2021.

Ms Carrabré’s orchestral experience includes two National Youth Orchestra of Canada tours (2006, 2011); Concertmaster of the University of Calgary, University of Ottawa, and University of Ottawa Opera Orchestras; Associate Concertmaster of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, alongside positions in the McGill Symphony Orchestra, the Brandon Chamber Players and as a substitute player for the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Additionally, she has performed as a soloist in Italy at the Casalmaggiore International Festival and has participated in masterclasses with acclaimed musicians including James Ehnes, Erika Raum, Ian Swenson, Yaela Hertz, Jonathan Crow, Livia Sohn, Andrew Dawes, Andres Cardenes, Tadeusz Gadzina, Feng Ning, Cho-Liang Lin, and Kai Gleustein.
Ms Carrabré has a great passion for teaching. Her own training included a balance of traditional and Suzuki methods. Her teachers include some of the most renown in Canada: Rob Richardson Jr., Gwen Hoebig, Bill van der Sloot, Denise Lupien, David Stewart, and Yehonatan Berrick. She has taken 6 years of Suzuki Teacher Training and finds great joy in constantly updating her professional skills with the latest methods of teaching and learning. As a teacher, she enjoys working with all age ranges but has had the most experience with children ages 3-10 and adult learners. Her teaching experience includes: violin instruction at Ottawa Suzuki Strings; violin, voice, piano, and viola instruction at Studio Arts Academy and Rock School in Ontario; Suzuki New Era Program in Manitoba teaching underprivileged children in a French Immersion school; and instructing several classes at Summer Suzuki Strings at Brandon University in rhythm, choir, master and group classes.

As a popular musician, Ms Carrabré regularly pairs with DJs in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal on electric violin, improvising over electronic dance music. Notable performances include Ottawa’s Red Door Party 2013, Bash En Blanc 2014, Humura Charity Fashion Show, and The INDIE Fashion Exhibit in both 2013 and 2015. This work led her to a partnership with the Ottawa hip hop community where she became involved with an improvisation collective, Each1Teach1, which enables live improvisation performances with local dancers and musicians. Ms. Carrabré has also performed with folk- rock group Ilvekyo, sharing the stage with Matthew Good Band (Blues Fest 2013), Hollerado (Kitchissippi Fest 2013) and The Sheepdogs (Kitchissippi Fest 2014), among others. She has also performed in a stage band for Jane Siberry and shared the stage with Michael Bublé on his recent Canadian tour. As a studio musician, she has recorded with Canadian bands such as John Allaire, Pony Girl, Blakdenim, Sketch Williams, and Cast in Cadence.

Ms Carrabré currently plays on an 1890 Erminio Montefiori violin and a bow constructed by Canadian bow-maker, François Malo. She is part of the Grigori String Quartet and a founding member of Wood and Wire String Quartet. She recently moved to Vancouver and is building a studio alongside her schedule as a freelance performer and a sessional instructor in research and writing for music at UBC.