FROMENT-SAVOIE, Pierrette

Pierrette Froment-Savoie is a notable Canadian pianist, composer, and university professor based out of Hull (now part of Gatineau), Quebec. Known for her contribution to Canadian classical music and pedagogical devotion, she has left a distinct stamp as an educator and a highly emotional composer. She began taking piano lessons at the age of five at the Wrightville Convent in Hull, eventually advancing her instruction at the Hull School of Music in 1955. She attended the University of Montreal, earning her Bachelor of Music degree in 1962, followed by a Master’s degree in classical piano two years later. She added a secondary Bachelor of Music degree from the same university spanning 1964–1965. Under the guidance of the celebrated Ukrainian-Canadian pianist Lubka Kolessa, she was nurtured alongside other renowned Canadian musicians. Over the subsequent decade, she refined her expertise in chamber music, complex analysis, counterpoint, fugue, and orchestration, primarily tracking courses at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. Froment-Savoie's most famous and enduring work is Requiem pour Mathieu. Written in 1992, this deeply emotional masterpiece is dedicated to the memory of her son, Mathieu Froment-Savoie, a highly promising young cellist who tragically died of cancer at only 12 years old.