Jean-Marc Léveillé, who was general director of the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra, has brought forward his final departure from the organization by approximately two months due to “administrative disagreements”.
The information, first relayed by the local newspaper La Relève, was confirmed by The duty. Reached on Friday, Mr. Léveillé explained that last September, he had first informed the board of directors of his desire to leave the organization on July 31, 2024. However, he then decided that he would abandon his position earlier. , on May 31, and that he would act in the interim until the end of July. “However, it didn’t work and I decided to leave first, [le 5 juin dernier]. »
This premature departure is due to “administrative disagreements” regarding compliance with deadlines, he explains. “When there are deadlines that are not met and we miss them the first time and then a second time, that all has costs. I, as general manager, have the responsibility to care about it. I am responsible for all the money, as long as subsidies that donors and sponsors,” explains the man who worked within the orchestra for around fifteen years.
His decision is therefore “not related” to the tumults that shook the organization last year, he asserts. In March 2023, The duty reported that the artistic direction of conductor Alexandre Da Costa was strongly contested by several members of the orchestra. “We had mediation and that allowed us to put things into perspective. We also listened a lot to musicians about the issues,” maintains Mr. Léveillé.
Before the beginning of last July, the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra was named the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra. This name change is not “aesthetic”, explained Jean-Marc Léveillé. “Some would have liked us to remain a regional orchestra, but our pretension is that an orchestra is a set of musicians who can play everywhere, including across the world. Keeping a regional status would have been reductive. »
At the time of writing, the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra had still not responded to interview requests from the Duty.
With Étienne Paré