Midtown Concerts • Pascal Valois
Guitaromanie
Pascal Valois ~ early period Romantic guitar
This program brings to life the frenzy and wonder of a musical performance where spontaneity is combined with virtuosity. It features a set of romantic masterpieces that drew crowds and thrilled patrons of music salons across Europe. Sometimes imbued with clarity and rigor, sometimes strewn with dazzling drama, romantic guitar music always charms, thanks to its richness and diversity.
Pascal Valois, guitar, is dedicated to reviving enthusiasm for his instrument’s music as popular during the Romantic era. After graduating with honours at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Jean Vallières, and receiving the Pierre J. Jeanniot Award during his studies at Université du Québec à Montréal with Alvaro Pierri, Pascal studied romantic guitar with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and with David Starobin in New York. He has played in Basel, Paris, Riga, San Francisco, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto.
Pascal has received the most renowned bursaries in Canada for guitar performance (Canada Council for the Arts) as well as musicology (FQRSC and SSHRC). He has also been awarded scholarships from the Desjardins Foundation, the Wilfrid-Pelletier Foundation, the Laval University Foundation, and the Université du Québec à Montréal Foundation. He has recorded for the Centaur records and Analekta labels. Pascal’s forthcoming album will reveal the music of forgotten composer Monsieur Vidal.
