Pierre Rolland C.M. (13 October 1931 - 29 November 2011) was a Canadian

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

english horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

player,

radio broadcaster Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

, and

arts administrator The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

. He is the father of cellist Sophie Rolland and violinist Brigitte Rolland.

Life and career

Born in

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 ...

, Rolland began his professional training in 1947 at the age of 15 at 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 ...

. He studied there for seven years under such teachers as Fernand Gillet (oboe), Jeanne Landry (harmony), Gilberte Martin (theory, solfège), and

Jean Papineau-Couture Jean Papineau-Couture, (November 12, 1916August 11, 2000) was a Canadians, Canadian composer and academic. Born in Montreal, Papineau-Couture is the grandson of conductor and composer Guillaume Couture (musician), Guillaume Couture. As a child ...

(dictation). In 1954 he entered the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

(NEC) where he continued to study under Gillet and earned a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in 1957. During his years at the NEC he spent his summers studying at the

Pierre Monteux School The Monteux School and Music Festival for conductors and orchestra musicians, founded by conductor Pierre Monteux, is a 6-week summer orchestra program located in Hancock, Maine, United States. History Pierre Monteux's (1875-1964) first forays i ...

. He later pursued further studies at 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 ...

in 1960–1961 with Étienne Baudo (oboe);

Eugène Bigot Eugène Bigot (28 February 1888 – 17 July 1965) was a French composer and conductor. Life Bigot was born in Rennes, Brittany, and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris where his notable pupils included Émilien Allard, Louis de Froment, Henri ...

and

Louis Fourestier Louis (Félix André) Fourestier (31 May 1892 – 30 September 1976) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, and was one of the founders of the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Early years, compositions and prizes Fourestier was born in Mo ...

(conducting), and

Maurice Franck Maurice Franck (22 April 1897 – 21 March 1983) was a French conductor, composer and music educator. Life Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Franck was one of the sons of Jules Franck, harp soloist at the Paris Opera, and Clémence Br ...

(theory). Rolland served as principal english horn player for the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

from 1961 to 1984. He had earlier played the oboe for the Halifax Symphony Orchestra (1954) and the

Ottawa Philharmonic The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic repe ...

(1957-1960). In 1970 he founded the Pierre-Rolland Quintet with whom he actively performed for over a decade. He also played in several ensembles for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. From 1965 to 1969 he wrote record reviews for ''Jeunesses musicales Chronicle'' and from 1975 to 1979 he wrote music criticism for the newspaper ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

''. In 1977 he helped establish the Orchestre des jeunes du Québec. He has also hosted or served as interviewer for multiple

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

programs, including ''Music de chez-nous'', ''Invitation à la musique'', and ''Faisons de la musique''. From 1980 to 1989 he was Director of the Orford Arts Centre. He also served for several years as the Director of the Pro Musica Society. In 1973 Rolland joined the faculty of the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

in 1973 where he later served as dean of the music department from 1984 to 1988. He also taught on the music faculties of the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...

, the

Cégep de Saint-Laurent Cégep de Saint-Laurent is a public French-language college located in the Saint-Laurent borough in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a few doors south of the English-language public college Vanier College. History The college traces its origins ...

, the École Normale de Musique de Montreal, and for several years at the École de musique Vincent-d'Indy. In 2010, Pierre Rolland was appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolland, Pierre Members of the Order of Canada 1931 births 2011 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni Canadian music critics Canadian oboists Male oboists Musicians from Quebec City CBC Radio hosts Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Cor anglais players Academic staff of the École de musique Vincent-d'Indy New England Conservatory alumni Academic staff of the Université de Montréal Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal 20th-century Canadian male musicians Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery