Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik Orchestra

American Canadian violinist and conductor Jeanne Lamon, CM OOnt was born on August 14, 1949, in New York, New York. She became interested in baroque music through her piano-playing mother, who loved the music of Bach. Jeanne Lamon expressed interest in the violin at an early age and began studying it at the age of seven. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Boston’s Brandeis University, relocating to the Netherlands to study under Herman Krebbers, the concertmaster of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. It was there that she discovered baroque music and the trajectory of her career was forever changed. Moving back to the US in the mid-1970s, she established herself as a specialist in baroque music, and, in 1974, became the first violinist to win the Erwin Bodky Award for Excellence in the Performance of Early Music. In the late ‘70s, she traveled to Canada and made two guest appearances with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. In 1981, she accepted a position as Music Director with the orchestra and relocated to Toronto, Canada. Under her leadership for the next 33 years, Tafelmusik became one of the most popular and best recognized early and baroque music ensembles in the world. They released over two dozen releases – including compilations – under her leadership including The Complete Instrumental Music of Leonardo Leo (1988), Vivaldi: Concertos for Strings (1992), Biber: Harmonia Arificioso Ariosa (1994), Bach: Violin Concertos (1995), A Baroque Feast (2002), and more. During her career, Jeanne Lamon received many awards and accolades including being appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000, which honored her for her work as a baroque violinist, teacher, concertmaster, and Music Director of Tafelmusik. In 2014, just as she was stepping down from her position with Tafelmusik, she was made a Member of the Order of Ontario. Jeanne Lamon died of lung cancer on June 20, 2021. She was 71.