The Consort laurentien is dedicated to the performance of chamber music from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on string and brass instruments, and is named after the majestic Saint Lawrence River, which for centuries has defined the natural, social and historical landscapes of the ensemble’s beloved homeland of Quebec, Canada. The core of the group comprises Julie Rivest (baroque violin), Étienne Asselin (cornetto), Maximilien Brisson (baroque trombone) and Christophe Gauthier (organ and harpsichord), four musicians who have worked together in various combinations for over fifteen years and who have now come together to form one of the first groups of its kind in Canada.

Building upon those years of friendship and prior collaboration, the four members bring together their strengths and instrumental proficiency and put to good use the variety of their backgrounds and professional experiences in reexamining, confronting and improving their musical ideas, which has allowed the group to quickly attain a very high standard of playing and to develop a fresh and personal interpretation of the repertoire it explores. Active on the international scene, the Consort was one of the finalist ensembles of the 2019 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition and performed at the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht in 2021. The ensemble was selected for Arizona Early Music’s first Emerging Ensemble Residency in 2024, where it completed a tour of three concerts in southern Arizona.