Proclaimed "Artist of the Year" by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Toronto Women's Musical Club, and winner of the Young Canadian Musician Award in 2000, Yegor Dyachkov enjoying a rich and multi-faceted career. "Clearly a very polished and sensitive cellist of great class" (Olivier Philipponnat, Paru.com), he has drawn the praise of audiences and critics at home and abroad for the intensity and richness of his playing, his remarkably mature musicianship and the diversity of his repertoire. "Dyachkov is undoubtedly a cellist of great stature: the natural bowing, the rich, deep sound, the total concentration, the interpretative sense, he has it all." (Claude Gingras, La Presse, Montreal).

An inspired recitalist and chamber musician and respected orchestral soloist, he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada and the United States. In addition to a concert schedule including invitations from such noted ensembles as the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, the CBC Radio Orchestra, I Musici de Montreal, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, les Violons du Roy and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, he has also performed at a wide array of festivals such as those in Évian, Kronberg, Prussia Cove, Tanglewood, Ottawa, Lanaudière and Vancouver.

These engagements have lead to many invaluable partnerships with outstanding ensembles and interpreters. Deeply committed to chamber music, Yegor Dyachkov has performed with the Arditti, Arthur-Leblanc, Borromeo and St. Lawrence Quartets, pianists Jean Saulnier, Lois Shapiro, Anton Kuerti and Stéphane Lemelin, violinists James Clark, Jonathan Crow, Antje Weithaas, Scott St. John and Yehonatan Berick, cellist Steven Isserlis, and clarinetists James Campbell, Todd Palmer and André Moisan. In year 2007, he founded Ensemble Magellan, with violinist Olivier Thouin, violist Yukari Cousineau and pianist Jean Saulnier. He is also part of Triple Forte, with violinist Jasper Wood and pianist David Jalbert.

Yegor Dyachkov accords a prominent place to contemporary music in his repertoire. He gave the premier performances of several works that are dedicated to him: the Sonata by Jacques Hétu, Ironman for cello and orchestra and The Agate Rosary for cello and piano by Michael Oesterle, Vez for solo cello by Ana Sokolovic, as well as Menuhin : Présence, a concerto written for him by the late André Prévost. He was the soloist for both the first French and the first Canadian performances of Giya Kancheli's Diplipito for cello, counter-tenor and orchestra. He has also been invited by Yo-Yo Ma and Sony Music to take part in the Silk Road Project.

Born in Moscow in 1974, Yegor Dyachkov studied with Aleksandr Fedorchenko at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and Yuli Turovsky at the University of Montreal. From 1995 to 1998, he enjoyed the rare privilege of being one of two people to study under Boris Pergamenschikov at the Hochschule in Cologne.

Although he continues to favour live performance, recording is a way to extend his horizons. Winning the Orford International Competition in 1997 led to an invitation from the Chandos label to record his debut CD featuring Glazunov's Concerto Ballata. He subsequently made critically acclaimed recordings including sonatas by Brahms (Analekta), works by Prokofiev and Stravinsky (Analekta), the cello concerto by Dvorak (Riche Lieu), the sonatas by Shostakovich, Schnittke and Prokofiev (Pelléas, Opus Prize 2001), works by Jacques Hétu and André Prévost (Doberman-Yppan), as well as sonatas by Strauss and Pfitzner (Brioso). His performances have been broadcast and televised in Canada and abroad.

The breadth of Yegor Dyachov's musical commitment also extends to teaching master classes and to maintaining a dialogue with young musicians. He teaches at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, and at the Domaine Forget Academy.

Founded in 1989 by pianist and conductor Lorraine Vaillancourt, le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) is a chamber orchestra of 15 musicians. It delivers a convincing interpretation of today’s musics, by granting them the time and attention they deserve.

Reflecting a variety of aesthetics, its repertoire, is open to the music from all continents, and leaves a large amount of room to premieres. Its concerts, public rehearsals and meetings with the composers are all privileged moments of exchange and reflection.

Ensemble-in-residence at the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Music, the NEM has performed concerts in Canada, United States, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Singapore and 7 European countries (Germany, England, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands).In September 2011, The NEM is going for the first time to China to take part in the Shanghai New Music Week of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Up to now, more than 130 works were composed for the ensemble.

The NEM's discography comprises 25 CDs released on the labels, ProNEM, ATMA and UMMUS (Montreal), Doberman-Yppan (Quebec), New World Records, Composers Recording Inc (New York), Auvidis Montaigne (Paris) and ABC Classics (Australia). These albums have been produced in collaboration with the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Music, Ircam, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, The Musica 93 Festival 93, the Société Radio-Canada, Radio-France and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne receives grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts de Montréal. The NEM is a member of le Vivier, the Conseil Québécois de la musique and Orchestras Canada.

Jean Saulnier leads an active career as a recitalist, chamber musician, and teacher. Over the years, he has developed broad experience in both the solo and the chamber music repertoire. He is a sought-after collaborator by the best musicians from Canada and abroad, which speaks eloquently to the flexibility, natural playing ability, and spirit of partnership he brings to every performance.
A recipient of numerous prizes in national and international competitions, including the William Kapell International Competition, the Prix d’Europe, and the Leschetizsky Competition, Saulnier has performed in Canada, the United States, South America, and Europe. He has been a guest soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Rochester Philharmonic, and I Musici de Montréal. He has been heard in major Canadian music festivals and on CBC radio.
Performing with his long-time partners, cellist Yegor Dyachkov and clarinetist André Moisan, Saulnier has recorded many major works from the chamber music repertoire on the Pelléas, Atma, Analekta, and Doberman-Yppan recording labels. He unexpectedly discovered a rare 1848 Pleyel piano, leading him to engage in extensive research on the interpretation of Chopin’s works. His recording of a Chopin recital on this piano has been praised for its refinement and originality.
Saulnier studied with Marc Durand, Leon Fleisher and André Laplante. His doctorate from the Université de Montréal was saluted with the General Governor Academic Gold Medal. He is currently Associate Professor in the Music Faculty of the Université de Montréal, where he has been teaching for over twenty years. He is regularly invited to be a guest teacher at the Orford Arts Centre and to give master classes at institutions of higher education. He frequently serves as a jury member for national and international competitions, higher education institutions, and government agencies.

Chamber music works featuring the cello, by two of Canada's most prolific and performed composers.