Olivier Fortin

Olivier Fortin, born October 29, 1973, in Quebec City, Quebec, has shaped the early music landscape across North America through his work as both harpsichordist and organist, whether appearing as soloist or leading Ensemble Masques, and he maintains a parallel reputation as an instructor in Quebec and across Europe. A mathematician father first sparked his interest in the harpsichord, prompting lessons at age eight with University of Laval faculty member Scott Ross. By ten he had enrolled at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec under Anatole Gagnon, remaining there through his undergraduate studies and earning a diploma with distinction in 1995. Subsequent organ training took him to Dom André Laberge and then to Réjean Poirier at the University of Montreal before a scholarship carried him to Europe, where he worked with Pierre Hantaï in Paris and Bob van Asperen at Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Conservatory. Early recognition—finalist placement at the Concours International Bach de Montréal, second prize at the Festival de musique de Bruge, and the 1997 Capriccio Stravagante Prize—accelerated his professional trajectory.

Fortin established Ensemble Masques in Montreal in 1996 and remains its director, though the ensemble performs without a conductor. Appearances as soloist or ensemble member, including stints with Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, have taken him throughout Canada and the United States, across Europe, and onward to East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. He has shared concerts and recordings of music for two or three harpsichords with both Hantaï and Skip Sempé; their joint 1999 Astrée release devoted to Vivaldi marked his first commercial recording. More than thirty albums have followed, many realized in partnership with Sempé or Ensemble Masques, among them the 2022 Bach: Ouvertures-Suites. Between 2004 and 2008 he taught at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and now serves on the faculty of the École Supérieure de Musique de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in France while also coaching ensembles at the Cluny Early Music Summer School.