Pierre Trochu

Trochu, Pierre

Pierre Trochu. Composer, percussionist, b Montreal 8 Jan 1953; B MUS (Montreal) 1974, M MUS (Montreal) 1977, D MUS composition (Montreal) 1983. He studied 1970-7 with Serge Garant (composition) and Robert Leroux and Guy Lachapelle (percussion) at the University of Montreal. He also took courses in mathematics and computer science 1970-4 at the university and enrolled at the electronic music studio at McGill University, where he worked 1973-5 with Alcides Lanza and Bengt Hambraeus. His first work, Pluton, was composed in 1971; the following year he wrote the music for an educational film, La Percussion, commissioned by the Quebec Ministry of Education. In 1974 he won the first CBC National Radio Competition for Young Composers with Orange (for mezzo-soprano, flute, piano, and two percussionists) premiered in April 1972 at the University of Montreal. He also composed other instrumental works including Modulo 5 ou la Naissance du rythme, premiered in May 1974 at Cowansville, Que, (FAMEQ congress), and Miracrose, premiered in April 1977 by the SMCQ Ensemble. In the second CBC National Radio Competition for Young Composers he took first prize with Eros, a work for tape performed in January 1976 at the University of Montreal and recorded on Centrediscs CMC-3288. He was awarded grants in 1975 and 1976 from the Canada Council and composed the sound track for the CBC radio program 'Portrait de Jean-Jules Richard' (1975) and incidental music for a dramatic work, Jacques Godbout's Le Bébé d'artifice (Prix Gilson 1975). In July 1976 his Solstices de liberté was presented by Médiateq as part of the activities surrounding the Montreal Olympic Games. He won the second prize in the 1982 PRO Canada Competition for young composers with his orchestral work Osmose (1981). Also in 1982 the OJQ premiered Fusion (1982) for 24 instrumentalists, under the direction of Serge Garant; this work was chosen to represent Canada at the World Music Days (ISCM) in Denmark in 1983. His work Vertiges (1983) for six percussionists was commissioned by Robert Leroux for the University of Montreal percussion ensemble and was also premiered as part of the World Music Days at the Salle Claude-Champagne l Oct 1984. The next day, the SMCQ premiered Tangente (1984) for 10 instrumentalists, a work which it had commissioned and which it recorded on RCI 611. This piece was also chosen for World Music Days in Budapest in 1986. Trochu is an associate of the Canadian Music Centre.