Americas Society
680 Park Avenue
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Quasar. (Image: Marie Lassiat)
Quasar Saxophone Quartet: Montréal-Monterrey
The Montreal-based saxophone quartet makes its Music of the Americas debut with music from Canada and Mexico.
Overview
Tickets are free. Email music@as-coa.org with any questions.
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Check out all our upcoming Music of the Americas concerts.
Quasar, celebrating 30 years of musical creation, explores the multifaceted sounds of the saxophone with a program of U.S. premieres by composers from Canada and Mexico.
Program
- Claude Vivier (transcription by Walter Boudreau): Pulau Dewata (1977)
- Alejandro Padilla: Fragments, pieces, breaks *(2023)
- Émilie Girard-Charest: Bestiaire ** (2018)
- Eduardo Caballero: Antichambre / Indeterminación del continuo *(2026)
- Florence Tremblay: Vapeurs Taillées ** (2025)
- Sophie Dupuis: Rebonds cosmiques ** (2023)
* Commissioned by the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey for Quasar
** Commissioned by Quasar
Quasar Saxophone Quartet
Marie-Chantal Leclair, soprano saxophone
Mathieu Leclair, alto saxophone
André Leroux, tenor saxophone
Jean-Marc Bouchard, baritone saxophone
About the Artists
Renowned for their energy, unique sonority and fearless innovation, the four members of Quasar have been exploring the multiple facets of musical creation for over 30 years. A highly versatile ensemble, they demonstrate exceptional artistry across a wide spectrum of genres and aesthetics, from acoustic works and improvisation to cutting-edge electronics, music-theatre and multidisciplinary productions.
Their artistic excellence has earned them 11 OPUS Awards from the Conseil québécois de la musique—including the coveted “Artist of the Year” prize—confirming their status as one of Canada’s most influential contemporary music ensembles.
A powerhouse of artistic innovation, Quasar is celebrated for its close collabor- ations with today’s composers. By embracing research, experimentation, and bold creative risks, the quartet brings to life concerts that are daring, immersive, and unmistakably original. More than 200 new works have been commissioned and premiered by the ensemble, making a profound contribution to the development of contemporary repertoire and musical ideas.
Based in Montreal, Quasar curates and produces a concert series each season and performs widely across Canada, Europe, the United States, and Mexico. The ensemble has been showcased at major international festivals, including Busan Maru (South Korea), Ars Musica (Brussels), the SALT Festival (Victoria), and Tonlagen (Dresden).
Member of Le Vivier, Quasar is supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and Vandoren.
Funders
The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.
The 2025–2026 series is also supported, in part, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Augustine Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University.
This concert is supported by the Québec Government Office in New York.
