British conductor, harpsichordist and cellist Jonathan Cohen will be the next music director of Les Violons du Roy, the world-famous chamber orchestra based in Quebec City. He succeeds founding director Bernard Labadie, who said in a statement, "Jonathan is a young musician of great stature with a bright future ahead of him, and there’s no doubt in my mind he will guide Les Violons du Roy to continued growth and development in the coming years."

Cohen will assume his new role in the 2018-2019 season but will begin serving as music director designate in February 2017, conducting a concert with Les Violons du Roy at Palais Montcalm in Quebec City. His appointment brings the orchestra's two-year search for a new music director to a close.

Cohen has high praise for Les Violons du Roy and its former music director: "The orchestra is a remarkable ensemble that I feel close to musically and that I admire for its consistent quality of the highest order. I also love its commitment and its unique spirit of taking pleasure in making music. I’d like to express my gratitude and admiration for Bernard Labadie’s outstanding work with the orchestra. I can’t wait to experience the same stimulating partnership with these great musicians, both in Quebec City and around the world."

Cohen is currently founding artistic director of Arcangelo, a U.K. music collective that, like Les Violons du Roy, specializes in early music but also branches out to 19th and 20th-century repertoire. He is also associate conductor of Les Arts Florissants. Cohen conducted a Glyndebourne production Mozart's Marriage of Figaro last summer. His recordings have won Gramophone and Echo Klassik Awards.

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