Wednesday July 23 to Monday July 29, 2002 - Stratford, Ontario, Canada

French concert organist Jean-Pierre Leguay is titular organist of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and has been widely honored as a performer, composer, and improvisateur. After serving 23 years as organist of the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Champs in Paris, Jean-Pierre Leguay was appointed to the post at Notre Dame Cathedral in 1985, continuing a long and distinguished career. His busy concert schedule takes him throughout Europe, North America, and the Far East.

He has recorded a number of albums on various French labels. The Festiva label recently released a recording of the works of Vierne and Gigout played on the restored organ at Notre Dame. His compact disc recording of the complete organ works of Brahms received enthusiastic acclaim in several countries. In reviewing this album, Le Monde de la Musique (Paris) said of Jean-Pierre Leguay, "A great performer the osmosis between work, performer, and instrument attains a perfection which surpasses the music itself."

His principal studies were with André Marchal and Gaston Litaize. At the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, he studied with Simone Ple-Caussade, Roland Falcinelli, and Olivier Messiaen. Among the numerous honors he earned were first prize at the Concours International de Composition Musicale de l'Académie d'Eté de Nice in 1962, Prix National d'Orgue de l'Union Fédérale Française de Musique Sacrée in 1963, first prize in organ and improvisation at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in 1966, first prize for improvisation on organ at the Concours International de Lyon in 1967, Lauréat du Concours International d'Improvisation à l'Orgue de Haarlem and second prize in piano improvisation at the Concours International de Lyon, both in 1969.

In addition to his frequent appearances as a performer, Jean-Pierre Leguay lectures at universities and conservatories as well as on radio. He is a member of the faculty of the Conservatoire National de Dijon where he teaches organ and improvisation. He also adjudicates competitions for organ, piano, harpsichord, clarinet, saxophone, and composition.

As a composer, Jean-Pierre Leguay has created over 40 works for diverse collections of instruments and voices. He has received numerous commissions from such institutions as the Minister of Culture in France, Radio-France, le Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, le Concours International de Chartres, l'Institut National de Musique Ancienne de Metz. His music appears in editions by Billaudot, Lemoine, Universal (Vienna), and Ch. Huguenin Schola (Switzerland). Twenty-three Preludes, Leguay's own compositions for organ, have recently been recorded by Pascale Rouet for Gallo records.

Jean-Pierre Leguay's distinguished and diversified career is all the more impressive when one realizes that, like one of his predecessors at Notre Dame Cathedral, the composer and organist Louis Vierne, Mr. Leguay is blind.

2002 ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS  - download the 2002 Academy Final Concert programme (151K pdf)

• Kirk Adsett
• Alexandra Fol
• Christopher Ku
• Jennifer Loveless
• Michelle Rae Martin