Montreal mourns orchestra legend, 94 RIPnorman lebrecht July 29, 2026The venerable percussionist Louis Charbonneau, timpanist at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal for almost half a century, has died at the age of 94. He was professor at the Conservatoire of Montréal and founded a specialist department at the Conservatoire of Québec. He was known as ‘the poet of timbales’.