Nicole Labelle

Education

Nicole Labelle studied piano with Yvonne Hubert and organ with Françoise Aubut at the École Vincent-d'Indy (1963–70), and music history at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Andrée Desautels (1966–68, 1970–73). From 1963 to 1966 she also attended Youth and Music Canada’s Orford Art Centre where she studied with Norbert Dufourcq, among others.

During her stay in Paris (1974–76), she studied history with Norbert Dufourcq and analysis with Nadia Boulanger.

Career Highlights

Nicole Labelle taught the literature and history of music at the École Vincent-d'Indy (1973–74) and began teaching at the University of Ottawa in 1976. Her research was centered on French music from 1870 to 1945. In 1981 the Presses universitaires de France commissioned from her the study L'Oratorio for the collection “Que sais-je?”.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Albert Roussel's death, Labelle published in 1987, in Paris, a critical edition of the Lettres et écrits of the composer, for which she was awarded the Prix René-Dumesnil of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Institut de France) the following year. Labelle has participated in several radio broadcasts in France and in Switzerland and has given lectures and delivered papers, notably during the international conference on Albert Roussel held at the Université Lumière-Lyon 2 in 1987. She was a founding member of the Association pour la Fondation Albert Roussel in Tourcoing, France.

Labelle wrote program notes for the National Arts Center Orchestra (1976–80), and articles and reviews in various periodicals, including the Revue internationale de musique française. Her doctoral thesis, “Les Différents styles de la musique religieuse en France: le psaume de 1539 à 1572,” was published by the Institute of Mediaeval Music in 1981. She was a regular guest jury member at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec and the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.