Estelle Lemire is a composer as well as an Ondes Martenot performer. She graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal after extensive musical studies. A student of Jean Laurendeau, she was awarded a First Prize in Ondes Martenot performance in 1988 and studied composition under Gilles Tremblay, receiving a First Prize in composition in 1991 and electroacoustics with Yves Daoust. As a composer, her catalogue numbers about fifty concert works, some written for the Ondes Martenot featuring percussion, gamelan or tape but also various chamber music ensemble, orchestral works and mixed music. Her musical language evolves from various influences: minimalism, a yearning for clarity of expression, micro-tonal research, integration of spectral harmony, as well as the recycling of musical objects, processes, manners and styles. As a soloist and chamber player, Estelle focuses mainly on the performance of new music while advocating better knowledge and appreciation of her instrument. She has performed for contemporary music organizations, ensembles and festivals in Canada and the United States. In addition to playing staple works from the Ondes repertoire, like Messiaen, Jolivet, Milhaud, Varèse, Murail, Vivier, Tremblay and Boucher, Estelle gave the premiere performances of several works by contemporary composers. She is co-founder of SDOM with ondists Suzanne Binet-Audet and Jean Larendeau and teaches the Ondes at the Conservatoire de Montréal. In the past years, she has received several grants from the Canada Art Council and Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec.
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