Featured Composer

Featured Composer: André Prévost

André Prévost was born in 1934 in Hawkesbury, Ontario. His formative studies at the Montreal Conservatory were with Clermont Pépin, Jean Papineau-Couture and Isabelle Delorme. In 1960 he won 1st Prize in Composition and with grants from the Canada Council and Province of Quebec he continued his studies in Paris, France with Messiaen and Dutilleux. In 1962 M. Prévost won the Prix d’Europe.

Later, Prévost continued his studies with Michel Phillipot in France and in the United States with Copland, Kodaly, Schuller and Carter. Following his studies, André Prévost taught composition and analysis at the Faculty of Music, University of Montreal for several years.

M. Prévost has been performed throughout Europe, the United States, India and New Zealand. His work “Terre des Hommes” for double orchestra, 3 choirs and 2 readers, based on a poem by Michele Lalonde, was chosen to mark the inauguration of Expo /67. His Cantata pour Cordes (1987) was a personal commission from Sir Yehudi Menuhin. André Prévost has won many honours including the medal of the Canadian Music Council, the Trophy for Concert Music from Performance Rights Organization of Canada, and in 1986 he was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

André Prévost passed away January 27, 2001.