Alain Gagnon

Alain Gagnon (22 May 1938 − 26 March 2017) was a Canadian composer and music educator based in Laval, Quebec. His compositions have been performed by ensembles throughout Canada.

Early life and education Gagnon was born in Trois-Pistoles, Quebec. He began teaching himself the piano as a young child; in 1951, at the age of 13, he began taking music lessons at the Rimouski Seminary with Father Philippe-Antoine Lavoie with whom he studied until 1958. In 1960 he entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec where he was an organ student with Henri Gagnon. Those honours enabled him to pursue graduate studies in France at the École Normale de Musique de Paris with Henri Dutilleux and at the École César Franck with Olivier Alain in 1965–1966. He studied for a short period of time at the Institut de Sonologie of Utrecht in 1966 and in 1967 at the Geneva Conservatory with André-François Marescotti. He joined the Canadian League of Composers and was an associate of the Canadian Music Centre. The Quebec Symphony Orchestra commissioned his Prélude and performed the works premiere in 1969 under conductor Pierre Dervaux.

In 1980 he composed "Pastourelle", his first composition for organ. A piano composition, "Jeux dans l'espace : poème, opus 27" was published a year later.

In 1998 Gagnon's work Chansons d'Orient was premiered by the Cantori New York chamber choir.

Gagnon died 26 March 2017, in Quebec City.