François Dompierre

François Dompierre

François Dompierre is a writer, presenter, rambler, and baker; but first and foremost he is a composer and improviser. He began his career as an author-composer-performer and soon became an orchestrator, collaborating with Félix Leclerc, for whom he produced five albums, including Le tour de l’île, and several other Québécois artists. Dompierre, a recording of his own compositions released in 1975, became a popular success. He composed scores for films directed by Jacques Godbout, Denys Arcand, Michel Brault, Claude Fournier, Francis Mankiewicz, Alain Chartrand, Denise Filiatrault, Claude Miller, André Melançon, Jean Beaudin, Claude Chabrol, and Léa Pool. As well as the music for Demain matin, Montréal m’attend, a musical comedy with text by Michel Tremblay, Dompierre has also written major concert works; a violin concerto; two piano concertos; the music for Les Glorieux, a piece honoring hockey players; and Vingt-quatre Préludes, recorded on the Analekta label by pianist Alain Lefèvre. In 2016, he wrote Concertango Grosso for pianist Louise Bessette (ATMA Classique 2016). His Fantaisie pour piano fantôme et orchestre was performed as an introduction to the Concours musical international de Montréal (2017). He composed Par quatre chemins for the New Orford String Quartet (ATMA Classique 2018). The album Phonèmes was recorded in Montréal’s Maison symphonique under the direction of the young orchestra conductor Francis Choinière and with Louise Bessette at the piano. (Classiques GFN 2022). François Dompierre is the author of two food books, published by Boréal; and of two biographies, published by Éditions La Presse: Monique Leyrac, le roman d’une vie (2019), and his autobiography, François Dompierre, Amours, délices et orgues. Récits d’une vie plurielle (2021). For 12 years he was a host on Radio-Canada’s ICI Musique. In 2019, the song L’âme à la tendresse, for which he wrote the music, was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. François Dompierre has received in 2016 the Tribute Award at the Gala du cinéma québécois of Québec Cinéma and he was a guest of honor at Montréal’s Cinemania Film Festival (2022). He is a Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade (2006), a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec (2014), and a Member of the Order of Canada (2014).

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