Recognized as one of the greatest pedagogues in Canada, Johanne Arel has trained many violinists over the past thirty years, many of whom have won regional, national and international competitions.
Among her former students, many have carved a prominent place in major ensembles such as Violons du Roy, Montreal's I Musici, Pieta, symphonic orchestras of Montreal, Québec, Bolzano (Italy), Columbus, Chicago, Edmonton, Buffalo, London (ON) and others, such as Alexandre Da Costa, are today concert soloists or first violins of various ensembles. Inspired by her dynamism and passion for teaching, many are also professors of violin in various conservatories of Quebec, schools, colleges, universities in Canada and the United States.
Johanne Arel began her studies in piano and violin at Les Ursulines in Trois-Rivières. She continued her violin training with Ethel Stark and won an unanimous first prize at the Montreal Conservatory in the class of Taras Gabora. She is a recipient of several awards and scholarships, and pursued her studies with renowned pedagogues including Dorothy Delay, Shirley Givens, Stefan Gheorgiu and Sidney Hart.
PAn early teaching passionate, Johanne Arel was actively involved in building a violin preparatory school at the Trois-Rivières and Montréal conservatories. She has been teaching at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal since 1978 and holds the position of head of the strings section.
Her great expertise is sought by various organizations, including the Académie de musique du Québec and several music schools, which draw on her knowledge to build and update their violin teaching programs.
Regularly invited to give masterclasses, Johanne Arel has also held workshops to several violin professors of Quebec. A jury member of various competitions, she is also frequently invited as examiner by many private music schools.
In 1985 she founded, along with her spouse and mentor Raymond Dessaints, also a professor of violin and conductor, the Camp musical des Laurentides located in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard in the Laurentians. Since 1997, the camp has been recognized by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications as one of three vocational training camps in Quebec and hosts 300 trainees each summer from Canada and the United States.
Alongside his teaching career, Johannes Arel has been a solo violin in Ensemble Amati since 1988, with thirteen recordings, including several soloist appearances as well as numerous recordings for the radio.
