Biography

François TOUSIGNANT (April 26, 1955 – March 26, 2019) began to study piano at the age of 7. He was admitted to the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in Hull, later focusing on composition. He worked with Luis de Pablo (Université d’Ottawa), Max Deutsch (École normale supérieure de musique de Paris — through bursaries from the Canada Council for the Arts), and Serge Garant (Université de Montréal). He taught writing and analysis for 8 years at both the Université d’Ottawa and Université de Montréal. He then spent 11 years as the music critic for daily newspaper Le Devoir before returning to his first passion: composition. He started a series of Sunday concerts that ran for 5 years at Galerie Montcalm in Hull, appeared on several Radio-Canada broadcasts as both a commentator and guest, and was a highly sought-after speaker, giving talks in the province of Quebec and in Ottawa. Over the last ten years, he also collaborated on interdisciplinary projects, notably with artist Carole Simard-Laflamme, and was the commissioner of the Symposium of Baie St-Paul (2008). Major milestones in his body of musical work include the 1978 premiere of Et plus tard un Ange... at Salle Cortot in Paris, the 1979 Paris premiere of La Chevelure—commissioned by the French government for the 100th anniversary of Alfred Cortot’s birth and the 50th anniversary of Salle Cortot—, and the 1988 premiere of Trois paysages proustiens at the Rideau Convent Chapel, for the opening celebrations of the National Gallery of Canada.