André Hamel
(1955 - )

André Hamel has extensive experience in both composition and concert production, and in 1985 formed the Société des Concerts Alternatif du Québec (Codes d’accès), which he served as president (1987-90), and as a member of the board of directors (1985-91; 1994-96). As project director for Codes D’accès, Hamel also laid the groundwork and helped realize Musiques-échange Québec-Belgique 1996. In 1992 he joined forces with two other composers to found Espaces sonores illimités, a group that focuses on the spatial aspects of concert presentation. He has been a member of the artistic committee of the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) since September 2000.
As a composer, André Hamel’s works have been performed regularly over the past two decades in Quebec, Canada and Europe, with pieces commissioned by a number of Québécois and international music organizations including the SMCQ, the Ensemble Nahandove (Brussels), the Polyrithmia percussion ensemble (Bulgaria), Société Radio-Canada, the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, the Canadian Music Centre, Théâtre La Chapelle in Montreal, the Morel-Nemish piano duo, and the French cellist Benjamin Carat. He was also one of 18 Quebec composers involved in creating the Millennium Symphony (June 2000). Hamel’s awards include a special mention for his orchestral work L’absurde travail at the Goffredo Petrassi International Competition for Composers (Italy, 1997), the Conseil québécois de la musique’s 1998 Prix Opus in the “Premiere of the Year” category, and the 2000 Joseph S. Stauffer Award given by the Canada Council for the Arts.
A former artist-in-residence at Le Studio du Québec in New York City (2003), Hamel’s current projects include the music for a collaborative, multi-disciplinary work entitled Urnos, realized with Bernard Arcand, Martine Beaulne, Claire Gignac et Guy Laramée.