Jacques Hétu

Jacques Hétu was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He learned piano as a youth and, in 1955, went to study music at the University of Ottawa. He then went on to study at the prestigious Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, where he won the school’s premier prix in composition in 1961. After graduating, Hétu was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies in Paris.

One of Canada’s most esteemed and frequently performed composers, Hétu’s catalogue includes some 70 works, including symphonies, opera, choral and chamber music, and concertos for numerous instruments.

His Symphony No. 3, judged by Eric McLean as “one of the most worthwhile creations of a Canadian composer in more than a decade” (Montreal Star, 1977), appeared on the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s European tour program in 1990.

Jacques Hétu garnered many honours, winning SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek prize seven times, as well as both a Western Music Award and a JUNO for the 2004 recording Jacques Hétu: Concertos. In 1989, he was made a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 2001, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.