Denis Bédard (born 13 January 1950)
L'Orgue
'. Vol. Issues 281-284. Librairie Floury; 2008. p. 54. is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 def ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

works (solo, duet, and with other instruments)
Organists' Review
'. Vol. 91, Issues 257-360. Incorporated Association of Organists; 2005. p. 144–145.
International Record Review
'. Vol. Volume 6, Issue 1. International Record Review; 2005. p. 159. and

choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

pieces (

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, with organ, and with

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

). He founded Éditions Cheldar, which publishes his works."Denis Bédard"
''Encyclopedia of Music in Canada'' His compositions are performed internationally.
''General-Anzeiger'', 2 Feb. 2019Christoph Lüttgen.

Early life and education

Bédard was born in

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. He was trained at 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 ...

where he obtained a deuxième prix harmony in 1966, a premier prix counterpoint in 1970, a premier prix fugue in 1971, premier prix organ in 1972, and a premier prix harpsichord and premier prix chamber music in 1973. Among his teachers at the conservatoire were

Tania Krieger Tania is usually a given name. It may refer to: Given name * Tânia Alves, Brazilian actress and singer * Tania Brishty, Bangladesh actress and model * Tania Bambaci (born 1990), Italian actress * Tania Belvederesi (born 1978), Italian cyclist * ...

(piano), Claude Lavoie (organ), André Mérineau (harmony), Magdeleine Martin (counterpoint and fugue), and Donald Thomson (harpsichord). A series of grants from the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

enabled him to pursue studies in Paris with

André Isoir André Jean-Marie Isoir (20 July 1935 – 20 July 2016) was a French organist and pedagogue. Biography André Isoir was born in 1935 in Saint-Dizier in Grand Est, France. Isoir studied with Édouard Souberbielle (organ) and Germaine Mounier (p ...

(organ) and

Laurence Boulay Laurence is in modern use as an English masculine and a French feminine given name. The modern English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from Laurentum" ...

(harpsichord and figured bass realization) and in Montreal with

Bernard Lagacé Bernard Lagacé (21 November 1930 – 11 February 2025) was a Canadian organist and musicologist. His two series of recitals covering the works of Johann Sebastian Bach are considered to be landmark events in the history of music in Montreal. He ...

(organ and harpsichord) between 1973 and 1975. After winning the

Prix d'Europe The Prix d'Europe () is a Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition ...

in 1975 for his harpsichord performance, he studied piano, harpsichord, and organ with

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

from 1975 to 1977.

Career

Beginning in 1969, Bédard served as organist at Church of Notre-Dame de la Nativité in Beauport, Quebec. In 1978 he became the organist at the Church of Saint-Coeur-de-Marie in Quebec City. He played at several other churches in Quebec, and composed music for organ, piano and harpsichord and other instruments. Bédard's composition ''Suite from the year 1996'' was intended to be played by two organists. A collection of his works for organ was released as an album, ''Denis Bédard: Organ Works'', was released through the Atma label in 1998. In 1999 he composed ''Duet Suite for Organ and Piano''. Bédard later moved to the west coast and became organist at Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire de Vancouver. He retired from this position in 2021, after exactly 20 years of playing at the cathedral. In 2018 his composition "Gibraltar March for Organ" was performed in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

at Holy Trinity Cathedral at the rededication of its 138 year old organ."New vibrant sound for the Holy Trinity Cathedral organ"
''Gibraltar Chronicle''. 16 January 2018, Alice Mascarenhas

Selected compositions

*''Suite from the year 1996'' *''Duet Suite for Organ and Piano'' (1999) *''Suite pour Orgue''
The American Organist
'. American Guild of Organists; 2006. p. 71. * ''Suite du premier ton''. * "Fantaisie" * "Gibraltar March for Organ" (2018)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedard, Denis 1950 births Living people Canadian classical pianists Canadian male composers Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec alumni Musicians from Quebec City Canadian male pianists 21st-century Canadian male musicians