Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Born in Germany, Helmut Lipsky studied violin with Abraham Comfort at the Zurich Conservatory in Switzerland, receiving 3 degrees in performance and pedagogy. He then continued his studies in New York, first with Professor Ivan Galamian for 3 years and then with Itzhak Perlman at the Brooklyn College Conservatory for 3 more years, obtaining a Master’s Degree. He was awarded the Presidential Scholars Award from the Council of the City of New York. Shortly after he toured the US with chamber music ensembles and as a soloist with orchestras in Switzerland and the United States. Resident of Montréal since 1980, Helmut Lipsky is very active on the national and international music scene as a violonist, composer and teacher in the realms of classical, jazz, world, tango and contemporary music. He has taught at several universities and is now professor at the Montréal Conservatory. He has recorded numerous radio and television programs featuring his works and participated with his ensembles at many important festivals in North America and tours regularly in Europe. He has also written music for cinema, the theatre, multimedia exhibitions as well as for special occasions, like his Harbour Symphony for violin, ship sirens and churchbells performed at Montreal Harbour. With MÉLOSPHÈRE and his other groups he recorded many critically acclaimed CDs and has collaborated with renowned artists like Andreas Vollenweider, Gilles Vigneault, Claude Léveillée, Karen Young, Suzie LeBlanc, Angèle Dubeau, James Gelfand, Michel Donato, Matt Herskowitz, François Richard, David Darling, Eugene Friesen, Jean_Philippe Collard-Neven, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, the German group L'Art de passage, the group Quartango and many more. He has won numerous awards, among others First Prize of the Worldwide Community of French Language Radio Stations. In 2011, he garnered the prestigious OPUS prize for Best album. 3 nominations for Best album at the Felix Awards, two for Best concert of the year by Les prix OPUS, Best violinist by the National Jazz Awards and he was a regular Speaker at the coveted Idea City Conference of Moses Znaimer in Toronto. He is an Honored Listee on Marquis Who's Who and has received several funds from the Canadian Arts Council and the Quebec Cultural Ministry. In 2016, he cofounded the CLAZZ International Music Festival in Arcidosso, Tuscany in Italy. Specialties: Music, Violin, Jazz, Classical, Contemporary, Composer, Improviser, CD Productions, Music for Film, Theatre, Dance, Multimedia, Special Events, Pedagogue, Producer, Publisher, Bandleader.
A unique Music Festival, situated in Arcidosso, a magnificent medieval village in the heart of Tuscany, Italy, which consolidates classical music, jazz improvisation, contemporary and cross-over styles into an integrated experience for students and teachers alike. An international faculty of distinguished artists teaches, coaches, gives masterclasses and performs as part of a prestigious concert series in historical venues.
Performances, often of original compositions, with various ensemble like Mélosphère, L'Art de passage, Tricycle, Unclassified, Éclectique Électrique, Sonos, Mirage, Convergence, the Lipsky-Longsworth Duo, the Lipsky-Sato Duo, The New York Players, Toad, Fragments Orchestra, Omelet Surprise, the Saguenay - Lac-St-Jean Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Rhenania Orchestra, the Masterpayers Chamber Orchestra, the Collegium Musicum Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonia Orchestra, etc.
Production, composition, arrangements, performances, audio recordings, MIDI programmation, creative coordination for Concert and Touring Projects, CD Recordings, Film Music Productions, Multimedia Projects, DVD Projects, Theatre Music Productions, Dance Performance Projects, etc. Besides for his own projects, Helmut Lipsky has written music for artists like Angèle Dubeau's Ensemble La Pietà, flutist André-Gilles Duchemin, L'Ensemble Répercussion, The Tudor Singers, the Spanish vocalist Chus, the Duo Philia, L'Ensemble Fiestango, L'Ensemble Triosphère, the Duo Antoine Bareil-Sébastien Lépine, soprano Suzie LeBlanc, jazz vocalist Karen Young, singer Sylvie Tremblay, poet and singer Gilles Vigneault, the Laval Symphony Orchestra, the Saguenay - Lac-St-Jean Symphony Orchestra, Igor Ovadis' production of "Crime and Punishment" at the Denis-Pelletier Theatre in Montréal, etc.
My official private studio for Film Music Production work. Creation of soundtracks for full-length movies ("L'Espérence" and "L'homme perché" by Stefan Pleszczynski, "Requiem contre un plafond" by Jeremy Peter Allan), short films, documentaries, art films, multimedia productions etc.