Born in 1948, Jacques Marchand studied the piano with Paul Loyonnet at Vincent D’Indy Music School and graduated in composition from McGill University (Montréal). His instructors included  Harry Freedman, Alcides Lanza and Bengt Hembreus and as conductor, he studied with Maestro Pierre Hétu and Marc David (Quebec, Canada), Maestro Zdenek Bilek, Otakar Trhlik and Frantisek Vajnar (Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic).

 

A commited musical amabassador to his local community, in 1987 Maestro Marchand founded the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Regional Symphony Orchestra (OSRAT) and has remained its director since.  In 1993, he also founded the Ensemble Aiguebelle, a string orchestra.

 

On the international stage, Jacques Marchand was guest conductor for the 25th anniversary gala of the Mary Washington College Symphony Orchestra in Fredriksburg, Viginia in 1996, premiering one of his works: A Sunday in Posnan. In 2001, he recorded another of his works, The Four Elements, a guitar concerto with soloist Rémi Boucher, a guitarist of international reputation and the National Symphony Orchestra of Estonia. In 2012, he created his composition Cantate Nordique for choir and orchestra to mark the 25th anniversary of OSRAT.

 

In 2017, he was commissioned by the pianist Alain Levèvre to restore and orchestrate André Mathieu’s Piano Concerto No. 3, from the 1942-43 manuscript a task which included composing the entire cadenza for the first movement.  This work took three years to complete with impressive results. Of Marchand, Lefèvre says "he tried to place himself into the period and into Mathieu’s head. It was a colossal job, but he did it ."

 

Jacques Marchand contribution to Canadian cultural life has been recognized with many awards and honours. Chief among them are Citoyen d’Honneur de la Société Nationale des Québecois, Citoyen émérite du Canada, Médaille de l’Assemblé nationale du Québec, Médaille du Jubilé de diamant de la reine Élizabeth II et, en 2018, Prix du créateur de l’année du Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. His international legacy as both composer and conductor is matched by an ongoing active commitment to nurturing a thriving arts life in this country.