McGill Percussion Ensemble » Biography

• Performer

The McGill Percussion Ensemble was founded in 1969 by Pierre Béluse, Professor of Percussion in the Faculty of Music at McGill 1967-2001. It comprises some of Montréal’s finest percussionists. Since 2001, the group has been under the direction of D’Arcy Philip Gray. In 1979 the group’s first recording titled Percussion and produced on the McGill University label, won the Grand Prix du Disque-Canada for chamber music, awarded by the Canadian Music Council. This success was followed by a recording in 1980 for Radio Canada International which featured the work of Canadian composers Walter Boudreau, Vincent Dionne, and Claude Vivier. In 1988 the ensemble recorded its first compact disc with works by Edgar Varese, alcides lanza, Jo Kondo, Francois Morel, Mantel Hood, and Pierre Beluse. In 1992, the ensemble won the Darius Milhaud Prize at the Concours d’interpretation de Musique Francaise de Montréal. In 1996, a second CD was recorded featuring works by Osvaldo Budon, Alberto Ginastera, and Pierre Béluse.