Recognized as a brilliant musician, both authentic and versatile, Jimmy Brière leads a remarkable career as a pianist and pedagogue. He is invited regularly as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Canada and abroad.
Jimmy Brière has been a guest soloist of numerous orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, the I Musici de Montréal chamber orchestra, the Orchestra Classica of Porto, the Pleven Philharmonic, the Ruse Philharmonic and the South Bend Symphony, amongst others. He is also a regular guest at major festivals and music organizations in the country such as the Festival de Lanaudière, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Orford Music Festival and the Domaine Forget International Festival.
A sought-after chamber musician, he has performed with renowned musicians and ensembles such as the double bassist Edgar Meyer, the clarinettist James Campbell, the New Zealand String Quartet, and the Canadian Chamber Players. Additionally, many of his performances have been broadcasted on CBC and Radio-Canada, the WFMT-FM in Chicago, as well as Kol Hamusica, in Israel.
His first solo CD released on the Analekta label was very well received by critics in Canada and around the world. This album featured works by Korngold, Rota and Corigliano, all of whom were recipients of an Oscar. Jimmy Brière has also recorded works for piano and chamber music by Jean Françaix under the label XXI-21 and, most recently, an album of the chamber music of Auguste Descarries on Atma Classique.
First Prize Winner of the Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 1997, laureate of the Porto International Competition in 1996, prize winner of the CBC Radio National Competition for Young Performers in 2001, and gold medal winner of the Fischoff Chamber Music competition in 2004, Jimmy Brière was also the recipient of the 21st Opus Prize for “Concert of the Year” in contemporary music (2018) for his performance of Alberto Ginastera’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM).
Jimmy Brière is currently an Associate Professor of Piano at the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montréal. A guest professor at Orford Music Academy since many years, he has given master classes in many important institutions such as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon, the Haute École de musique de Lausanne and the Glenn Gould School of Toronto. He has also frequently served as a jury member for many national and international competitions.
A graduate of the Université de Montréal, the Indiana University and the Glenn Gould School of Toronto, Jimmy Brière has studied with Marc Durand, Leon Fleisher, Manahem Pressler and André Laplante.