The Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec (CMADQ) is a public network of nine state-subsidised schools offering

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The organization was established in 1942 as a branch of the

Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec The Ministry of Culture and Communications (french: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications ) is responsible for promoting and protecting the culture in the Canadian province of Quebec. The current Minister is Nathalie Roy.government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

during the premiership of

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

. Orchestra conductor

Wilfrid Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Claude Champagne Claude Champagne (27 May 1891 – 21 December 1965) was a French Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, and violinist. Early life and education Born as Joseph-Arthur-Adonaï Claude Champagne in Montreal, Quebec, Champagne began piano and theo ...

are credited for their zeal in promoting this project, and the two men led the organization as director and assistant director for its first several years.Conservatoire de musique du Québec
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

, accessed August 28, 2019 The organization's current director general is Nathalie Letendre. The first two conservatoires in the CMADQ network were for music and were established in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1943 and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

in 1944. During the 1950s the organization founded additional schools for the theatre arts in both those cities, followed by four additional music conservatoires in 1967 in

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...

, Hull,

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, and

Val-d'Or Val-d'Or (, , ; "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the Canada 2021 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlife R ...

. The seventh and last school for music to be added was in

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), the C ...

in 1973. Many of Canada's most successful musicians and artists of the theatre of the 20th and 21st centuries have been trained or taught at these schools.

History

During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Canadian

put together a large report on music education. This report was presented to the Quebec government by Champagne and conductor

with the hopes of establishing Canadian institutes of higher learning for music. The report closely examined music education in Europe as well as in Canada and plans were soon formed to establish a network of state-subsidized schools which would be modelled after European conservatoires, particularly the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. On 29 May 1942 The Conservatory Act ('Loi du conservatoire') was passed by the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

, which allocated a $30,000 budget to form the CMADQ's first school, the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...

(CMQM). The CMQM opened its doors in January 1943 with its first round of courses, which were held at the

Saint-Sulpice Library The Saint-Sulpice Library is an historic building located at 1700 Saint Denis Street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was designated a Historic Monument of Quebec in 1988. At the dawn of the 20th century, the political elite and religious leaders ...

. Pelletier was the school's first director and Champagne the first assistant director. With the successful opening of the CMQM, the CMADQ, under Pelletier's leadership, began plans to establish a similar conservatoire in

, the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec (CMQQ) is a music conservatory located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Founded by the Quebec government in 1944, it became the second North American music institution of higher learning to be en ...

. These plans were swiftly carried out and the school's first day of classes occurred on 17 January 1944 with Pelletier also serving as this school's first director. Most of the conservatoire's original faculty were also teachers at the CMQM and commuted back and forth between the two schools during its early years. Originally the CMADQ was only concerned with musical education, but Pelletier felt that Quebec needed conservatoires for studies in theatre as well. He proposed the idea to the Quebec government and was met with resistance. However, he won the ear of Premier

and ultimately his influence led to the establishment of the CMADQ's first school for the theatre arts, the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec à Montréal in 1954 under the directorship of Jan Doat. The establishment of the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec à Québec followed four years later. The CMADQ went on to establish four more music conservatoires in 1967. The

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières (CMQT) is a music conservatory located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. Most of the school's students come from the Saint-Maurice region of Quebec; many of them from the conservatoi ...

was originally established as a preparatory school for conservatoire bound students in 1964. It became a full-fledged conservatoire in the CMADQ network in 1967. The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Val-d'Or opened in September 1967 and the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Gatineau was opened on 15 October 1967 followed by the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Saguenay on 16 October 1967. The last conservatoire to be added to the CMADQ, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Rimouski, opened in 1973.

Member schools

The conservatoire consists of seven music schools and two theatre schools: * Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Gatineau (housed in Riverview manor) *

* Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Rimouski * Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Saguenay *

* Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Val-d'Or *

Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal The Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal is a Canadian government-funded dramatic school founded in 1954. The first director was Jan Doat. He was succeeded by Jean Valcourt in 1955 on the condition that a branch also be opened in Quebec Cit ...

* Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Québec

Notes

External links

Official Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Quebec Schools in Quebec Music schools in Canada Educational institutions established in 1942 1942 establishments in Quebec