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Conductor and pianist, Lorraine Vaillancourt is the founder and Musical Director of Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM), the ensemble-in-residence at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Music since 1989. A full professor at this same institution, she also directed the Atelier de musique contemporaine from 1974 until her retirement from teaching in 2016.
She is regularly invited as a guest conductor by different ensembles and orchestras both in Canada and abroad. Lorraine Vaillancourt is a founding member, along with composers José Evangelista, John Rea and Claude Vivier, of the Montreal concert company Les Événements du Neuf (1978 to 1989). In 1990, she spearheaded the creation of the North American journal CIRCUIT, dedicated to 20th century music. She served as president of the Conseil Québécois de la Musique (CQM) from 1998 to 2001, and subsequently sat on the board of directors of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) until 2006.
She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Ordre du bleuet. The recipient of an honorary doctorate from Université Laval in Quebec City in June 2013, she was made a Member (C.M.) of the Order of Canada in February 2016. In 2018, she received the Prix Hommage at the Opus Awards ceremony, as well as the prestigious Prix Denise-Pelletier presented by the Government of Quebec. The same year, she was named Chevalière de l’Ordre du Québec and in 2019, was awarded the Medal of the Quebec National Assembly, a high honour recognizing her significant contribution to Quebec’s cultural life.
