Marc Bélanger (born 30 July 1940) is a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist,

violist The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

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 ...

, 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 origina ...

Life and career

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 ...

, Bélanger is the son of violinist and conductor Edwin Bélanger and the brother of musician Guy Bélanger. It is from his father that he received his initial musical training. At the age of eight he began studying the violin with

Calvin Sieb Calvin Robert Sieb (30 May 1925 – 21 May 2007) was an American-born Canadian classical violinist who was the concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1959/1960–79) and the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse (1979–89), and also play ...

and singing with

Claude Létourneau Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), F ...

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 ...

. He continued to study at the conservatoire through 1961, earning a diploma in 1960 with premier prizes in both

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. He also studied conducting at the

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

under

Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor, who was principal conductor of the city orchestra of Winterthur from 1922 to 1950. He promoted contemporary music, beginning with Schoenberg's '' Pierrot Lunaire'', follow ...

. Bélanger began his career working as an ensemble musician, conductor, and arranger for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

. Between 1956 and 1971 he played the violin and viola in various orchestras at the CBC in Quebec and from 1972 to 1976 he played in the CBC Orchestra in Montreal. From 1958 to 1972 he was a member of the

Quebec Symphony Orchestra 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, ...

; notably serving as the ensemble's principal violist from 1969 to 1972. In 1981 he played an instrumental role in establishing the

Orchestre Métropolitain The Orchestre Métropolitain (, OM) is a symphony orchestra in Montréal, Québec, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside th ...

(OM) in Montreal; serving as the OM's first musical director from 1981 to 1986 and then artistic director in 1986–1987."Montreal maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin signs on for 5 more years at the Orchestre Métropolitain"
Arthur Kaptainis, ''Montreal Gazette'', 16 September 2015 At

Expo 86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a world's fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

he was a guest soloist with the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

for the inauguration gala of the Canadian Pavilion. He later served for several years as the principal violinist of the

Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra (OSS) (), is a symphony orchestra based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with Université de Sherbrooke as its home. History The orchestra's first performance took place on 3 April 1940. Founded by Horace Boux, Sylvi ...

and the Orchestre de chambre de l'Estrie. Bélanger's compositional output consists of several instrumental works, of which his ''Divertissement'' (1969) for string quartet is his best known. From 1966 to 1979 he was a member of

Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, Publishing, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist and Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Qu ...

's ensemble and he arranged many musical works for that group. In 1976 he founded the Groupe Marc Bélanger, a 10-musician ensemble which used electrified instruments. The ensemble's

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

''Les Cordes en liberté'' features several compositions by Bélanger. In 1977 he orchestrated the music for

André Gagnon André Gagnon (2 August 1936 – 3 December 2020) was a Canadian pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, and actor, known for his fusion of classical and pop styles,Jean-Pierre Thiollet, ''88 notes pour piano solo'', Neva Editions, 2015, p.16 ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

''Mad Shadows''. In 1971 Bélanger joined the faculty of 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 ...

where he taught courses in viola, violin, and arranging and directed the jazz ensemble through 1977. From 1973 to 1979 he also taught viola and chamber music at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. In 1991 he began teaching at the

Cégep de Drummondville A CEGEP ( or ; , ; also written CÉGEP and cegep) is a publicly funded college providing general, professional, academic or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, it orig ...

where he is a violin instructor and leads the string orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belanger, Marc 1940 births 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) 21st-century Canadian classical violinists 21st-century Canadian male musicians Living people Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian male classical violinists Canadian classical violists Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec alumni Canadian music educators Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Academic staff of the Université de Montréal 21st-century violists Accademia Musicale Chigiana alumni