Jacques Lacombe Receives the Order of Canada

Pictured: Jacques Lacombe receives the insignia of Member of the Order of Canada from Governor General of Canada David Johnston. Credit: MCpl Vincent Carbonneau, Rideau Hall, OSGG.

Maestro Jacques Lacombe has been invested into the Order of Canada. The centerpiece of Canada’s honors system, the Order of Canada recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.

Lacombe formally received the insignia of Member of the Order of Canada from Governor General of Canada David Johnston, who is Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order, at an investiture ceremony on May 7 at Rideau Hall.

The NJSO music director garnered the honor for his international career and achievements, as well as his work within the country. Lacombe has been music director of his hometown orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières, since 2006.

Lacombe—who in 2012 received the highest honor Québec’s government can bestow when he was knighted by the National Order of Québec—says he is proud to represent Canada in his work abroad: “I am proud to be a citizen of Canada, and I feel [that connection to my country] always. Canada fascinates Europeans, and I’ve found that Canadian artists are well respected for their creativity.”

In his address to the 45 recipients of the Order of Canada at the investiture ceremony, the Governor General said: “Each of you has desired stronger communities and a better Canada in which to live—indeed, a better world—for a very long time. Certainly, you have poured your respective hearts and souls into your work. You have achieved a level of focus that has enabled you to excel and to effect positive change, be it a new idea or innovation, an original song or story, or a new way of reaching out and helping others. You are thoughtful and introspective, and yet your actions are geared outwards to the world.”