École de musique Jocelyne Laberge

École de musique Jocelyne Laberge. Music school founded in 1978 in Châteauguay, south of Montréal, by Jocelyne Laberge (born 9 May 1930 in Montréal, QC; died 25 November 2015 in Candiac, QC). It offers instruction in piano, violin, cello, guitar, flute, recorder, clarinet, saxophone, and voice, as well as a an 'introduction to music' course for which the school is best known. In her methods J'apprends la musique et ça m'amuse (2 vol with cassettes, 1982, 1984), Le Solfège... ça m'amuse (2 vol with cassettes, 1987, 1990) and La Théorie de la musique... ça m'amuse (vol 1, 1991), Jocelyne Laberge emphasizes the importance of instilling a taste for music in the child four to eight old, while respecting his learning abilities and his expressive needs. Building on these basic principles, she developed and tested a teaching method involving a complete gymnastics of the body. Through a series of gestures appropriate for each field of study, the child stimulates his/her imagination and trains psychomotor abilities, in addition to mastering elements that are strictly musical. Nursery rhymes convey musical principles, and through them the child discovers rhythm, reading, writing and musical dictation.

In 1990, 250 students attended the school that had a teaching staff of 19. Musical instruction, dispensed over nine years, is based on specific curriculae, many of which have been tailored to the requirements of the school. The recorder programme has attracted special attention thanks to the reputation of the Ensemble Capriole, composed of students of the school. Moreover, students are given the opportunity to take part in various competitions, practice ensemble music inside the orchestra, small chamber groups, and the choir, and perform at yearly concerts.

In 1981, the school opened a branch in Saint-Jean, south east of Montreal.