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Bio of composers > MOREL, François
 François
Morel, born
in Montreal in 1926, belongs to an important
group of Quebec composers, all of them students
of the late Claude Champagne. Unlike his colleagues,
he resisted the idea of going to Europe to further
his studies, he stayed in Quebec and met Varèse
in New York. This choice did not in any way
jeopardize the development of an international
career. In 1953, Leopold Stokowski premiered
ANTIPHONIE in Carnegie Hall, a work still frequently
performed today. Morel's subsequent works have
been widely played in Europe, Russia, Japan,
China as well as in North and South Americas
under the direction of renowned conductors such
as Monteux, Ozawa, Metha, Decker and Abbado.
François Morel was also very active on
the Quebec music scene, organizing concerts,
producing records and composing works for radio,
television and theatre.
He worked for over 25 years as a freelance composer
and conductor for the CBC French network, was
a co-founder of Musique de Notre Temps (Music
of Our Times), of Les Éditions Québec-Musique
and founder and artistic director of l'Ensemble
Bois et Cuivres du Québec.
His work for large wind orchestra AUX COULEURS
DU CIEL was commissioned by the Montreal Symphony
Orchestra and premiered by this orchestra in
January 1988, under the direction of Charles
Dutoit to whom the work was dedicated.
François Morel has recently retired from
the Faculty of Music of Laval University where
he taught from 1979 until 1997 as professor
of composition, analysis and orchestration.
Among the contemporary music ensembles which
he organized and conducted while at the university,
were an ensemble of twelve flutes, another of
fifhteen brass instruments, as well as the Contemporary
Ensemble of winds, brass and percussion.
In 1994, he was honoured with the rank of chevalier
of the National Order of Quebec and in 1996,
he received the Denise Pelletier prize at the
Prix du Québec awards.
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