Born in 1958 in Montreal, where she still lives and works, Joane Hétu is a musician, composer, improviser, conductor, cultural worker and manager.

Winner of the prestigious Freddie Stone Award in 2006 for her involvement in Canadian creation music, Hétu wields her two instruments, voice and alto saxophone, combining the flexibility of one and the urgency of the other in a symbiosis.that is uniquely hers. She directs the noise choir JOKER, which she founded in 2012 and for which she created, among others, the works Où est-il donc ce rêve ? (2014) and Langoureusengagée (2017). She co-directs the Ensemble SuperMusique (ensemble of 6 to 20 musicians) with Danielle Palardy Roger since 1998 and thus propels the creation and interpretation of graphic scores as well as directional gestures in improvised music to the fore. Ardently passionate about contemporary and improvised music, she has been hosting the Mercredimusics series with Jean Derome and Lori Freedman since 2001.

In recent years, she has composed for the Ensemble SuperMusique, the Bozzini Quartet, the Now Orchestra, Quasar saxophone quartet and Instruments of Happiness. She forms, with Jean Derome, the magical duo Nous perçons les oreilles and she directs the quintet Castor et compagnie which is dedicated to lewd and loving songs. Hétu has presented her music for 40 years in festivals, tours and concert series, both in Canada and internationally. She is also the founder and director of the DAME record company (Distributions Ambiances Magnétiques Etcetera, 1991), co-artistic director of Productions SuperMusique (1980) and founding member of the Ambiances Magnétiques label. Her discography includes some fifty albums.

Photo : Céline Côté, 2018