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Alphonse-Alain Gagnon, composer, teacher (born 22 May 1938 in Trois-Pistoles, QC; died 26 March 2017 in Quebec City, QC).
Education
Alain Gagnon began teaching himself the piano but continued (1951–58) with Father Philippe-Antoine Lavoie at the Rimouski Seminary. In 1960 he enrolled at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec for organ tuition with Henri Gagnon. He also studied composition with Roger Matton at Laval University and in 1963 received the Governor-General's Medal, and in 1964 an award from the French government. He studied composition with Jocelyne Binet (1964–65), and in 1965 he received the Prix d'Europe and scholarships from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Quebec Ministry of Education. In Paris he studied with Henri Dutilleux at the École normale and Olivier Alain at the École César-Franck (1965–66). He also studied briefly at the Institut de Sonologie of Utrecht in 1966 and with André-François Marescotti at the Geneva Conservatory in 1967.
Career Highlights
Alain Gagnon began teaching theory, analysis, and composition at Laval University in 1967. His Prélude, commissioned by the Quebec Symphony Orchestra with the help of a grant from the Canada Council, was premiered by the orchestra in 1969 under Pierre Dervaux. A fervent admirer of Debussy, Gagnon believed that composition is a matter alike of technique and of humanism.
He was a member of the Canadian League of Composers and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre.
