Jean Marchand

Biography

A graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, Jean studied with Irving Heller and Karl Engel. He has performed as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician across Canada, the USA and Europe and collaborated with violinists Ida Haendel, Denise Lupien, Mark Fewer and Jonathan Crow, cellists Matt Haimovitz, Philippe Muller, Antonio Lysy and Elizabeth Dolin, barytones Phillip Sly, Nathaniel Watson and Allan Monk and pianists Dale Bartlett, Brigitte Poulin and Lise Boucher. Extensive tours with Matt Haimovitz took them to Lincoln Center, University of Miami and San Francisco and together they recorded for Sony Classical and Oxyngale. Jean appeared as soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre Métropolitain and l’Orchestre symphonique de Laval. He performed numerous times at the Ottawa and Montreal music festivals as well as at Le Festival international du Domaine Forget, where he was a member of the teaching staff for fourteen years. A passionate advocate of contemporary music, he premiered works by Québec composers Jean Lesage, Serge Arcuri, Denys Gougeon, Julien Bilodeau and Raymond Daveluy and performed several times for La Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec.

Jean also pursues an active acting career on stage, television and in movies. Plays include “Hamlet” and “Richard III”, “Amadeus”, “Equus”, “Antigone”, “Old wicked songs” and “You will remember me” in such venues as Le Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Le Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Centaur Theatre, The Segal Centre and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He has worked with movie directors Denis Villeneuve, Denys Arcand, Denis Côté, Paolo Barzman and Sophie Dupuis. Television credits include “Unité 9”, “District 31”, “Wynonna Earp” and numerous teleplays. He has narrated several works in both French and English with the MSO, the Québec Symphony, the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Molinari and Alcan Quartets.

Jean integrates much of his acting experience and principles in his teaching. “We don many identities as musicians. We must “speak” as actors and also learn the eloquence of silence”. He owes much to Lee Strasberg of NYC’s “Actors Studio” and to American playwright and director Eugene Lion and his workshops on “Techniques of authenticity”.

Musical studies

Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (class of Irving Heller, 1965 – 1971)
(First Prize)
With Karl Engel (Switzerland)

Performances

He has collaborated extensively with violinists Denise Lupien, Jonathan Crow and Mark Fewer, cellists Matt Haimovitz, Elizabeth Dolin, Philippe Muller and Antonio Lysy, baritones Allan Monk and Nathaniel Watson, sopranos Chantal Lambert and Gail Desmarais and pianists Brigitte Poulin, Dale Bartlett and Lise Boucher. His frequent tours with Matt Haimovitz gave him the opportunity to perform in New York’s Lincoln Center, San Francisco’s “Performances” series and  for National Public Radio (“St-Paul’s Sundays”).

He has performed with l’Orchestre Métropolitain under the direction of Joseph Rescigno (2000) and l’Orchestre symphonique de Laval with Jean-François Rivest (2007).

He has given many recitals for both the SRC/CBC radios and televisions, Télé-Québec and l’ORTF (Paris). He has also been invited to perform for the Festival international de Lanaudière (2000, 2003), the Festival international du Domaine Forget (2000 to 2011) and many times for the Montréal and Ottawa Chamber Music Festivals.

Recordings

Variations for two pianos with Dale Bartlett (CBC records)
Musique de salon pour piano quatre mains with Lise Boucher (Atma)
Gulash with cellist Matt Haimovitz (Oxingale)
L’histoire du soldat (CBC records)

Teaching

Accompanist (1987- 2010) at the Schulich School of music, McGill University (strings)
Accompanist (voice) (1996-2000) Faculté de musique, Université de Montréal
Accompanist (strings) (2000-2011) Domaine Forget

Currently teaches collaborative studies I and II and chamber music at the Schulich School of music

Contemporary music premieres

Sonate pour piano (Lise Gauthier), Trois-Rivières, 1976
Dans la nuit and  Thrènes (Jean Lesage), Spirituart, Montréal, 1992
Sonate pour violoncelle et piano (Raymond Daveluy), Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, Montréal, 2008, Société Radio-Canada, Espace Musique

President of l’Académie de musique du Québec and co-director of the “Prix d’Europe” music competition (2005-2008)

Jean Marchand also pursues an active career as a stage, television and movie actor.

Courses

Introduction to collaborative piano (MUEN 556 and 557)
Collaborative Piano repertoire II (instrumental) (MUPG 688)
Piano Ensemble (MUEN 582)
Chamber music (mixed ensembles)