Marcelle Deschênes


Marcelle Deschênes-Harvey née Price is a Canadian multi-media artist, music educator and composer of electroacoustic music. She was a professor at the University of Montreal.

Early life and education

Marcelle Deschênes was born near Rimouski, Quebec. She graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Montreal, studying from 1963 to 1967 with Jean Papineau-Couture and Serge Garant. She continued her education in France with François Bayle, Henri Chiarucci, and Guy Reibel of the Groupe de Recherches musicales de Paris. She also studied audio-visual techniques at the Pierre Schaeffer's Conservatoire and analysis at the École César-Franck with Olivier Alain. At the University of Paris, she studied with Daniel Charles, Claude Laloum and Jean-Étienne Marie.

Career

While completing her studies, Deschênes created several multi-media works. She returned to Canada in 1971 and took a teaching and research position at the electronic music studio of Laval University, where she helped organize a sound library and composed the soundtracks for several films. In 1979 she founded the electroacoustic studio Bruit Blanc.
In 1980 Deschênes took a position as professor of music at the University of Montreal, teaching the composition of electroacoustic music. In collaboration with visual artists, she continued to create and exhibit multimedia projects, including OPÉRAaaaAH! in 1983.

Honors and awards

Deschênes composes multimedia works and film soundtracks. Selected works include:
Her works have been recorded and issued on CD, including: