François Morel is a Canadian composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

, and music education

Music education

Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...

. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre

Canadian Music Centre

The Canadian Music Centre holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music. The CMC exists to promote the works of its Associate Composers in Canada and around the world....

, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec

National Order of Quebec

The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...

 in 1994 and was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier

Prix Denise-Pelletier

The Prix Denise-Pelletier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in the performing arts. It is awarded to a creator, performer, stage-craftsman or person who has made a noteworthy contribution in the fields of song,...

 in 1996. He has had works premiered by such notable orchestras as the CBC Symphony Orchestra

CBC Symphony Orchestra

The CBC Symphony Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded in 1952, conductor Geoffrey Waddington served as the orchestra'a only music director; although other conductors, such as...

, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra

Montreal Symphony Orchestra

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...

, and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...

.

Life and career

Born in Montreal, Morel studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal from 1944–1953. His teachers included Claude Champagne

Claude Champagne

Claude Champagne was a Canadian composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, he studied violin with Albert Chamberland, organ with Orpha-F. Deveaux, and piano with Romain-Octave Pelletier I and Alexis Contant at the Conservatoire national de musique. In 1921 he went straight to Paris to study music...

 (composition), Isabelle Delorme

Isabelle Delorme

Isabelle Delorme was a Canadian composer, pianist, and music educator. As a composer, her works are lyrical in nature and follow more traditional ideas of harmony as opposed to the avant-garde music that was in vogue in her day...

 (harmony, counterpoint, fugue), Gérald Gagnier

Gérald Gagnier

Gérald Gagnier was a Canadian bandmaster, composer, and trumpeter. His compositional output includes the symphonic poem Polyphème, a Prélude for piano, a Suite romantique for strings, and Rolandineries for piano.-Life and career:Born in Montreal, Gagnier was the son of musician René Gagnier and...

 (conducting), Arthur Letondal (piano), Germaine Malépart, Jean Papineau-Couture

Jean Papineau-Couture

Jean Papineau-Couture, was a Canadian composer and academic.Born in Montreal, Papineau-Couture is the grandson of conductor and composer Guillaume Couture. As a child he studied piano with his mother...

 (acoustics), and Edmond Trudel (piano). He was a founding member of the Canadian League of Composers

Canadian League of Composers

The Canadian League of Composers is an organization formed in 1951 of Canadian composers primarily interested in raising awareness and acceptance of Canadian music. The activities of the League are overseen and directed by an executive and a National Council...

 in 1951. From 1956–1979 he worked for CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

 as a composer of incidental music, music consultant, and researcher.

Morel taught music analysis and composition at the Institut Nazareth from 1959–1961. In 1972 he was appointed director of the Académie de musique du Québec, a position he held through 1978. From 1976–1979 he taught at the Bourgchemin Cegep in Drummondville and from 1979–1997 he taught at Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

. He also served on the faculty of the Université de Montréal

Université de Montréal

The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...

in 1979–1980.