Serge Garant

Serge Garant
Born	September 22, 1929
Died	November 1, 1986
Occupation	composer, conductor, teacher

Serge Garant, OC (September 22, 1929 – November 1, 1986) was a Canadian composer, conductor, professor of music at the University of Montreal and radio host of Musique de notre siècle on Radio-Canada. In 1966 he cofounded with Jean Papineau-Couture, Maryvonne Kendergi, Wilfrid Pelletier and Hugh Davidson the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec. In 1979, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.The Prix Serge-Garant was created in his honor by the Fondation Émile Nelligan. Among his notable pupils were Ginette Bellavance, Walter Boudreau, Marcelle Deschênes, Denis Gougeon, Richard Grégoire, Anne Lauber, Michel Longtin, Myke Roy, and François Tousignant.

Serge had a very early musical initiation, through culture and interest for music from his mother. From a young age, he attended the Sacred Heart of Jesus Elementary School located in Quebec City, where he spent three consecutive years (1936-1939) . Upset by the events of the economic crisis ranging from 1929 to 1939, the Garant family moved successively from Quebec to L'Ancienne-Lorette in 1940, L'Ancienne -Lorette to Verdun in 1941, and eventually settled in Sherbrooke in 1941. Continuing his academic learning over these moves, Serge Garant finished his ninth year at St. John the Baptist school Sherbrooke in 1945. During his studies, Garant develops a particular interest in the clarinet, one of several instruments that he came to master over his life. In 1946, Garant, always captivated by the wind instruments, learns self-taught saxophone.

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