Grégoire, Richard
Grégoire, Richard. Composer, arranger, b Montreal 18 May 1944; L MUS (Montreal) 1968. He studied composition at the
University of Montreal with
Serge Garant. In 1969 the
Pro Musica Society and the
SMCQ premiered and recorded (RCI 301, see Discography for Garant) Grégoire's
Cantate for soprano solo, 12 voices, electric organ, guitar, and percussion. A winner of scholarships from the
Canada Council and the Quebec and French governments, he attended 1969-70 a study session in Paris with the Groupe de Recherches musicales and worked under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer. He also studied analysis and composition with Gilbert Amy and in 1969 participated in the preparation of a collective electroacoustic work performed at the Avignon Festival. His piece for one or several saxophones,
Trajet, was played in 1974 at the University of Montreal, where he was teaching (1971-6). Grégoire has worked extensively in pop music as an arranger for
Edith Butler, Jim (
Corcoran) and Bertrand (Gosselin),
Pauline Julien,
Diane Juster,
Jacques Michel, the Séguins,
Fabienne Thibeault, and others, as well as for the CBC. He has composed music for the CBC TV drama (telecast November 1977) 'Le Deuxième Coup de feu,' for which his work won him in 1978 the
Canadian Music Council prize for the best original music for a dramatic or documentary broadcast. Since the end of the 1970s, Grégoire has become one of the main Quebec composers of film music. He wrote for Yves Simoneau:
Pouvoir intime (1985),
Perfectly Normal (1990); for Robert Ménard:
Exit (1986),
T'es belle Jeanne (1988),
Cruising Bar (1989); Michel Poulette:
Les Bottes (Gemini award 1988; Hubert-Yves Rose:
La Ligne de chaleur (1987); Pierre Migneault:
Blue la magnifique (Jury prize 'Les Grandes Premières,' 1990); and Jean-Claude Labrecque:
Bonjour M. Gauvin (Jury prize 'Les Grandes Premières,' 1990). He also composed the music for the CBC TV series 'Les Filles de Caleb' (1990).
Author
Christian Rioux, Pierre Rochon
Links to Other Sites
Canadian Music Centre
Search the extensive CMC website for Canadian composer biographies and interviews, music scores, online newsletters, audio clips, podcasts, and more. Check out "CentreStreams" to listen to online archived recordings featuring outstanding Canadian composers.