Julien Bilodeau

Julien Bilodeau is one of the leading composers of his generation. After winning two first prizes with great distinction at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, he went on to perfect his skills in France and Germany, where he worked with Pascal Dusapin, Fausto Romitelli and Karlheinz Stockhausen, among others. In 2006, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded him the Robert Flemming Prize for the most promising young composer. His works, which are very open and varied in style and aesthetic, have been performed around the world by leading ensembles including the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Itinéraire, New York’s Orchestra of the Americas, I Musici, Orchestre Métropolitain and Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. In 2011, Maestro Kent Nagano commissioned “Qu’un cri élève nos chants”, a work given its world premiere by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal on the occasion of the inaugural evening of the Maison Symphonique de Montréal. His first opera, Another Brick In The Wall – L’opéra, meanwhile, was premiered in 2017 by Opéra de Montréal, directed by Dominic Champagne, and received Opus Awards in the “Event of the Year” and “Composer of the Year” categories. His commitment to opera is confirmed by the forthcoming creation of two new operas in collaboration with playwright Michel Marc Bouchard for Opéra de Montréal (2021) and the Canadian Opera Company (2022).