The dismissal of maestro Jacques Lacombe was contested in early June within the Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM). In a letter from The duty obtained a copy, a dozen permanent musicians of the organization implored the board of directors to review its decision to part ways with the renowned conductor.
“It seems imperative to us to reconsider the decision to terminate our conductor’s contract for the good, the future and the influence of the OCM. What would the image of the orchestra be without our conductor, whose reputation is well established in our community, as we begin the 85e season?” can be read in this letter sent to the OCM CA on 1er last June.
A few days earlier, the musicians had been informed of the departure of Jacques Lacombe, who had taken up the post barely a year earlier. The conductor subsequently spoke publicly to blame his dismissal on strong tensions between him and the general director, Taras Kulish. But already, in early June, musicians had received information that a disagreement with the general director had led to the termination of Jacques Lacombe’s contract.
“We are questioning this dispute, which is being paid for by us,” the letter in question lamented, before calling for a mediation process. “It appears to us that the artistic aspect may not have been considered in this decision-making process, from which we are totally excluded,” the signatories also mentioned. Among them: 10 of the orchestra’s 18 permanent musicians.
About ten extra musicians also signed this text in support of Jacques Lacombe, as well as three OCM employees. Jacques Lacombe assures that he was not involved in the writing of this letter, which he only learned of after the fact.
Three departures
After having conducted the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières and that of the Grands Ballets canadiens, among others, Jacques Lacombe was appointed conductor and artistic director of the OCM in 2023 to replace Boris Brott, who tragically died after being hit in a hit-and-run in Hamilton.
In an interview at Duty Last week, Jacques Lacombe said he had been at loggerheads with Taras Kulish since he took office. He accused the general director of undermining his efforts to raise the level of the orchestra with “his ways of doing things” inherited from “semi-professional orchestras.” Jacques Lacombe also claims that Mr. Kulish’s management style created “a harmful work environment,” which he claims led to the departure of members of the administrative team.
According to our information, three employees of the administrative team left the OCM in the last year. The orchestra confirms this, but maintains that these voluntary departures “are not linked to each other”.
“Best present and future interest”
The OCM board of directors responded on June 5 to the letter sent to it by some of the organization’s musicians and employees. In this internal communication, including Le Duty also obtained a copy, the CA acknowledges that its decision to part ways with Jacques Lacombe is not linked to the “quality of the artistic performances” of the conductor. However, it maintains the validity of this decision.
“The decision was made in the best present and future interests of the OCM and all possibilities were analyzed before arriving at this conclusion,” said the CA, which says it is bound by a confidentiality agreement preventing it from revealing the reasons for Jacques Lacombe’s departure.
Taras Kulish is currently on vacation and is not available for interviews, the Duty a spokesman for the orchestra.