Jean-François Denis

Denis, Jean-François

Denis, Jean-François. Composer, b Montreal 24 Feb 1960; BA communications (Concordia) 1982, MFA (Oakland) 1984. Under David Rosenboom, he studied (1982-4) electronic music and recording techniques at Mills College in Oakland, Cal., where he received the Paul Merrit Prize for excellence in composition. From 1984 to 1986, he took part in several productions by California companies (theatre, multi-media events) as composer or sound engineer. Back in Quebec, he taught (1985-9) electroacoustic music at Concordia University, where, for two years, he organized the concerts by the Groupe électroacoustique de Concordia (Concordia University Electroacoustics) while compiling the works received at the tape library. The results of this compilation, published in Q/Résonance and Q/Résonance Addendum (Montreal 1988,1989), catalogue over 900 electroacoustic works. He is a founding member of the CEC, of which he was president 1986-90. In 1989, along with Claude Schryer, he created DIFFUSION i MéDIA, which has produced the CD label empreintes DIGITAL es devoted to electroacoustic music. That year, he was artist in residence at the Banff CA.

Denis has composed a large number of works in genres as diverse as multi-media, solo tape, improvisation, mixed musics, live electronics and computer music. His composition Trajectoires, winner of an honourable mention at the Concours international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges in 1988, was recorded by keyboardist Sergio Barroso (SNE 556-CD), whereas his electroacoustic work, Fréquents passages, created in collaboration with Eric Brown, was released 1990 on 4-ACM 37 (CD). He is an associate of the Canadian Music Centre.