Claude Champagne

Champagne grew up in Montreal and studied in Paris during the 1920s under Vincent d'Indy, absorbing French impressionist orchestral color. In 1927, his choral-orchestral masterpiece Suite canadienne achieved major critical acclaim in Paris and North America.

Returning to Montreal, Champagne spent four decades teaching composition at the Conservatoire and McGill University, mentoring practically every major Quebec composer of the twentieth century, including Jean Papineau-Couture and Serge Garant. His 1944 Symphonie gaspésienne evoked the sea swells of the Gaspé coast.