Prelude

Early music has always been present in my life. My parents were not musicians, but they always loved to listen, as proves their collection of recordings, which revolves around 17th- and 18th-century music.

I started playing violin at the age of 4. Perhaps if I had been given a baroque violin, things would have turned out differently. As it happens, I mostly thought it was very uncomfortable. I clearly remember my mother trying to coerce me into practicing, while all I did was rush to our upright piano, trying to teach myself how the two lines of music fit together, and how they related to the black and white keyboard. I also had a cassette that I'd listen to every night before going to bed: Igor Kipnis’ Harpsichord Greatest Hits. Somehow, its violin equivalent didn’t hold the same appeal for me.

As a 9-year-old, my parents brought my sisters and I to Europe for a two-month road trip, aboard an old VW Westfalia we rented upon arriving in Amsterdam. That summer, I discovered European culture at its best, got myself a nice French accent (or so I was told), and stumbled upon the most wonderful place I could have dreamed of, the exhibition hall of the Bruges Harpsichord Competition.

The huge room was filled to the brim with harpsichords of all sorts, all painted differently, with one, two, and even three keyboards! The room was mostly empty of people; it must have been during one of the competitions at the nearby hall. I was free to run around and press on all the keys I wanted, but I was also a bit jealous of my older sister. At the time, she had been studying harpsichord, and was lucky enough to have actual pieces to play on the instruments. As a result, and after much nagging on my part, my parents allowed me to switch from violin to the harpsichord the following year, and I never looked back.

Headshot Lysiane Boulva
Headshot Lysiane Boulva
Biography

Lysiane Boulva is a harpsichordist and organist based in France. While her training as a harpsichordist has given her a particular affinity for Baroque repertoire, her work as an organist has expanded her horizons to encompass music from the 19th century to the present day. She serves as titular organist at Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc Church in Versailles and as organ professor at the Music School in Voisins-le-Bretonneux.

As both soloist and collaborative artist, Lysiane performs regularly across Europe and North America. Recent solo appearances include the Chapelle Royale and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Saints-Anges Church in Lachine, and organs throughout France and Quebec. Her collaborative work has brought her to ensembles such as the Orchestre National de France and Les Violons du Roy, where she has worked with conductors including Bernard Labadie, Jonathan Cohen, and Bertrand de Billy. In 2024, she was a finalist in the Pierre de Manchicourt International Organ Competition.

Her fascination with mid-18th-century French music led to doctoral research on composer Jacques Duphly at the University of Toronto, examining the aesthetic shifts in French harpsichord music during the Enlightenment. This research was presented at the 16th Biennial International Conference on Baroque Music in Salzburg. She continued to deepen her work in French repertoire through an Artist Diploma completed in 2025 at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Versailles with Jean-Baptiste Robin. The recipient of scholarships from the Fonds de recherche du Québec — Société et culture and the Canada Council for the Arts, she holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, the Quebec Music Conservatory, University Laval and the University of Toronto. She has also benefited from masterclasses with musicians including Olivier Houette, Ton Koopman, and Vincent Dubois.

Beyond the concert stage, Lysiane is committed to music education, serving as a teacher for the ANFOL's liturgical music training programs. She has also contributed to music education through the Camp musical de Québec and her work with the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto. She is also a collaborator on the documentary film Stonebreaker, drawn by her interest in preserving and sharing the legacy of harpsichordist Scott Ross.