Roger Matton OC (18 May 1929 – 7 June 2004) was a Canadian

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 ...

,
Begins with the Oboe: A History of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
'. University of Toronto Press; 2002. . p. 80, 104.

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

, and

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 ...

. As a composer his works are characterized by their association with folklore and folk music.

Early life and education

Born in

Granby, Quebec Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 69,025. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie after ...

, Matton was trained 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 ...

where he was a pupil of

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 ...

(composition), Isabelle Delorme (music theory), and

Arthur Letondal Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...

(piano). He pursued further studies in Paris with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

, and

Andrée Vaurabourg Andrée Louise Vaurabourg-Honegger (8 September 1894 − 18 July 1980) was a French pianist and teacher. She was the wife of Swiss-French composer Arthur Honegger (1892–1955), whom she met at the Paris Conservatoire in 1916. Honegger married he ...

. He then studied

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...

at the

National Museum of Canada The national museums of Canada are the nine museums in Canada designated under the federal ''Museums Act'' and operated by the Government of Canada. The national museums are responsible for "preserving and promoting the heritage of Canada and all it ...

with

Marius Barbeau Charles Marius Barbeau, (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology. A ...

Career

Matton started his career working 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. ...

as a composer in both radio and television. In 1956 he joined the staff of

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

where he worked as a researcher and ethnomusicologist in the UL's folklore archives through 1976. He transcribed roughly 300

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

songs between 1957 and 1959.
Ethnologies francophones de l'Amérique et d'ailleurs
'. Presses Université Laval; 1997. . p. 15–18. Among his students was composer

Alain Gagnon Alain Gagnon (22 May 1938 − 26 March 2017) was a Canadian composer and music educator based in Laval, Quebec. His compositions have been performed by ensembles throughout Canada. Early life and education Gagnon was born in Trois-Pistoles, Queb ...

. In 1965 he was awarded the Prix de la création at the Congrès du spectacle. In 1966 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 ...

included his ''Mouvement symphonique II'' in their concert repertoire for their 1966 tour of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, making it one of the first symphonic works by a Canadian composer to be performed in that nation. Soon after his ''Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra'' was performed and recorded by the Toronto Symphony and released in the United States by Capital Records.Kit Morgan.
Canadian Assns Renew Drive to Promote Its Local Talent
'. ''BillBoard'', Nielsen Business Media, Inc.; 29 July 1967.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

&nbs
0006-2510
p. 48. Matton was awarded the

Calixa-Lavallée Award The Calixa-Lavallée Award (french: Prix Calixa-Lavallée) is a music award created in 1959. It is granted by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal (SSJBM) to a Quebecer having distinguished themself in the field of music.http://degree.youthl ...

in 1969 and in 1984 he was named an

Officer 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 ...

Selected compositions

*''Te Deum'' *''Mouvement symphonique II'', 1962Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. International Service.
Thirty-four Biographies of Canadian Composers
'. the Corporation; 1964. p. 60–61. * "Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra", 1964
Fanfare
'. Vol. 16, Issue 5. J. Flegler; 1993. p. 383. *“Danse brésilienne”

Sources

Roger Matton
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 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Matton, Roger 1929 births 2004 deaths Canadian male composers Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Officers of the Order of Canada People from Granby, Quebec Université Laval faculty 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians