Jacques Hétu
Encyclopedia
Jacques Hétu, OC
(August 8, 1938 – February 9, 2010) was a Canadian
composer and music educator from Trois-Rivières
, Quebec
. He was nominated for a 1989 Juno Award
in the Best Classical Composition category. In 1989, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
and in 2001 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
.
Hétu began his professional training at the University of Ottawa
where he was a pupil of Jules Martel from 1955-1956. He entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal in 1956 where he studied for five years with such teachers as Melvin Berman
(oboe), Isabelle Delorme
(harmony), Jean Papineau-Couture
(fugue), Clermont Pépin
(composition and counterpoint), and Georges Savaria
(piano). He also studied at the Tanglewood Music Center
during the summer of 1959 with Lukas Foss
. In 1961 he won several important awards including first prize at the Quebec Music Festivals composition competition, a grant from the Canada Council
, and the Prix d'Europe
. The latter two awards enabled him to pursue studies in France
at the École Normale de Musique de Paris
from 1961-1963 with Henri Dutilleux
and at the Paris Conservatory with Olivier Messiaen
in 1962-1963.
Hétu joined the music faculty at Laval University in 1963, remaining there through 1977. He taught music composition at the University of Montreal in 1972-1973 and 1978-1979. From 1979-2000 he was a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal
, notably serving as the director of that school's Music Department from 1980–1982 and 1986-1988.
at his home in Saint-Hippolyte
on February 9, 2010. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Desaulniers, and five children.
On March 3, 2010 the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
premiered his Fifth Symphony under the baton of TSO music director Peter Oundjian. It is not known whether this commission – his Op. 81 – was his last completed work.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(August 8, 1938 – February 9, 2010) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
composer and music educator from Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. He was nominated for a 1989 Juno Award
Juno Awards of 1989
The Juno Awards of 1989, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 12 March 1989 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. André-Philippe Gagnon was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on CBC Television.Blue Rodeo won in three of its...
in the Best Classical Composition category. In 1989, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
and in 2001 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Hétu began his professional training at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
where he was a pupil of Jules Martel from 1955-1956. He entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal in 1956 where he studied for five years with such teachers as Melvin Berman
Melvin Berman
Melvin Berman was the solo oboist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Radio-Canada orchestra in Montreal, as well as a member of the Baroque Trio of Montreal....
(oboe), 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), 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...
(fugue), Clermont Pépin
Clermont Pépin
Clermont Pépin, was a Canadian pianist, composer and teacher.He was born Jean Joseph Clermont Pépin in Saint-Georges, Quebec in 1926. Pépin studied with influential Canadian composers Claude Champagne and Arnold Walter , and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 1941 to 1944 with...
(composition and counterpoint), and Georges Savaria
Georges Savaria
Georges Savaria is a Canadian pianist, composer, ondist, college administrator, and music educator. His compositional output consists of a 1951 piano concerto, several songs and works for solo piano, and music for theatre, television, and radio...
(piano). He also studied at the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
during the summer of 1959 with Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
. In 1961 he won several important awards including first prize at the Quebec Music Festivals composition competition, a grant from the Canada Council
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...
, and the Prix d'Europe
Prix d'Europe
The Prix d'Europe is a prestigious Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition with the exception of 1960-1973 and 2009...
. The latter two awards enabled him to pursue studies in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the École Normale de Musique de Paris
École Normale de Musique de Paris
The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...
from 1961-1963 with Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
and at the Paris Conservatory with Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
in 1962-1963.
Hétu joined the music faculty at Laval University in 1963, remaining there through 1977. He taught music composition at the University of Montreal in 1972-1973 and 1978-1979. From 1979-2000 he was a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
, notably serving as the director of that school's Music Department from 1980–1982 and 1986-1988.
Death
Hétu died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at his home in Saint-Hippolyte
Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec
Saint-Hippolyte is a parish municipality within the La Rivière-du-Nord Regional County Municipality, Quebec and the administrative region of Laurentides in the Laurentian mountains about 45 km north of Montreal...
on February 9, 2010. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Desaulniers, and five children.
On March 3, 2010 the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
premiered his Fifth Symphony under the baton of TSO music director Peter Oundjian. It is not known whether this commission – his Op. 81 – was his last completed work.