Symphony NB is New Brunswick’s professional orchestra.

Established in 1983, Symphony NB operates the province's only full-scale, full-season professional orchestra. Under the direction of Music Director Mélanie Léonard since 2021, Symphony NB has proven itself to be better than ever, scaling new heights of musical excellence. In addition to a broad range of outreach initiatives, it presents two series of concert tours annually. The Signature Series comprises six programs featuring the full orchestra, while the Virtuoso Series consists of seven concert tours in association with three of the province’s leading professional chamber music ensembles: the Saint John String Quartet, the wind quintet Ventus Machina, and Résonance New Music.

Through its versatile programming, Symphony NB continues to demonstrate how the work of symphonic musicians strengthens communities in an increasingly diverse New Brunswick.

Meet our Core Musicians

  • Danielle Sametz

    Principal Violin
    Concertmaster

  • Nadia Francavilla

    Principal Second Violin Miles and Eunice Kierstead Memorial Chair

  • Andrew Reed Miller

    Principal Bass

  • Joël Cormier

    Principal Timpani
    Philip W. Oland Memorial Chair

  • Chris Yoon

    Principal Cello
    BMO Financial Group Endowed Chair

  • Auditions TBA

    Principal Viola
    The Dr. Mary Pedersen Endowed Chair

Additional Endowed Chairs

Second Chair First Violin
Dr Tom Condon Memorial Chair

Second Chair Second Violin
Li-Hong Xu Memorial Chair

Section Viola
Reid & Jaqueline Parker Endowed Chair

Second Chair Cello
The Tom & Lisa Gribbons Endowed Chair

Section Cello
The Marion Isabel Pedersen & Sister Marie Estelle Memorial Chair

Principal Trumpet
Wallace, Norma and John MacMurray Memorial Chair

Second Trumpet
The Saint Mary’s Band and Bruce Holder Jr. Memorial Chair

Principal Timpani
Philip W. Oland Memorial Chair

Principal Flute
The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Chair

Principal Oboe
Mary E. Pedersen MD, Prof Corp Endowed Chair

Principal Clarinet
In Honour of Suzanne Farrer Irving

Principal Bassoon
Pannell Family Endowed Chair

About Musical Director
Mélanie Léonard

Born in Montréal, Mélanie Léonard is Music Director of Symphony New Brunswick and Assistant Professor of Instrumental Conducting (Contemporary Music) at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. She was previously Resident and Associate Conductor at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director at the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra.

As a guest conductor, she has worked with many institutions including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre Métropolitain, and the National Arts Center Orchestra, as well as symphony orchestras in Edmonton, Regina, Victoria, Winnipeg, Québec, Nova Scotia, and Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Maestra Léonard has conducted orchestras on soundtracks for Aura at the Montréal Notre-Dame Basilica, Paradise City in South Korea, and for Cirque du Soleil’s Land of Fantasy in Hangzhou, China. Over the course of her career she has founded three contemporary music ensembles: Prima Ensemble, Wild West New Music Ensemble, and the Calgary New Music Festival. During the 2024-25 season, Maestra Léonard made her debut with Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, the Chants Libres opera company, and Orchestre Classique de Montréal.

Mélanie Léonard was the first woman to complete a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at Université de Montréal. In 2012, she received the Canada Council for the Arts’ Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting.