Jacques Hetu

Full biography Jacques Hetu

Jacques Hétu (1938-2010) was a Canadian composer and teacher, born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He began his musical studies at a young age and went on to study at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, where he received his Premier Prix in Composition in 1961. He later studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and with Nadia Boulanger.

Hétu wrote over 150 works in a variety of genres, including orchestral, chamber, vocal, and choral music. He was known for his modernist style and his use of serialism and other contemporary techniques. Some of his most famous works include his First Symphony for strings, his Second Symphony, and his chamber works for strings.

In addition to his work as a composer, Hétu was also a respected teacher, and he taught at both the Université de Montréal and the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. Many of his students went on to become successful composers in their own right, and Hétu was widely regarded as an influential figure in Canadian music.

Hétu's music has been praised for its complexity and depth, and he has been recognized with numerous awards and honors throughout his career. He received the Prix Denise-Pelletier and the Molson Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, and he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.

Despite his passing in 2010, Hétu's music continues to be performed and studied by musicians and scholars around the world. He left behind a rich legacy of innovative and thought-provoking compositions and remains an important figure in the history of Canadian music.