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La Presse, Montréal, Canada
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Hailed by critics for his "full command of the instrument, beautiful lyricism and poetry" (La Presse, Montréal), the 26 year old French-Canadian pianist Jean-François Latour is gaining an international reputation. He has performed extensively in the major cities of Europe and North America, including Paris, Toulouse, Geneva, Hamburg, Brussels, Washington D.C. and Baltimore. He was recently named "Jeune soliste de l'année" (Young Soloist of the Year), by the CRPLF, the Communauté des Radios Publiques de Langue Française (French Language Public Radio Network). As a result, Mr. Latour's live performances have been broadcast by the Radio Suisse-Romande, Italian National Radio &endash; RAI, Belgian Radio-Television, and the Société Radio-Canada. He has also presented recitals which have been broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Vermont Public Radio.
Recognized as one of Canada's most talented young pianists, Jean-François Latour has been called a "successor to [Marc-Andre] Hamelin and [Louis] Lortie" (Le Soleil, Quebec City). He has performed throughout Canada at major venues such as the Institut Canadien in Quebec City, the National Arts Center in Ottawa, the Place des Arts in Montréal.
Mr. Latour made his orchestral debut at the age of eleven with the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières. Since then, he has also performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Orchestre Symphonique de la Montérégie, and the Orchestre Métropolitain, among others. In addition, Mr. Latour has performed at the Orford Music Festival, at the Festival d'été de Québec, in a benefit concert for the Theatre Chamber Players in Washington D.C, and has been a frequent guest at the Vermont Mozart Festival. He has played under the direction of Timothy Vernon, Christopher Wilkins, Marc David, Victor Pull, Agnes Grossman and Lara Webber.
Mr. Latour's honors include several first prizes in the Canadian Music Competition, the highest award in the Stepping Stones Competition, and first prize in the Concours National de Piano de Sucy-en-Brie in France. He was also a prizewinner and recipient of the Rotary International Prize at the Concours International de Piano held in Saint-Nom la Bretèche, France.
In May 2002, Jean-François Latour completed the prestigious Artist Diploma program at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he was a full scholarship student of Leon Fleisher. He was the only student admitted into this program, in any discipline, in the year 2000. He also has an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he was a student of Marc Durand and Leon Fleisher. He earned his M.M. and B.M. at the University of Montréal, where he studied with Marc Durand. Mr. Latour has also worked with John Perry, André Laplante, Ellen Mack, Marek Jablonsky and Gilbert Kalish.
Mr. Latour is a recipient of a Career Grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts.
Jean-François Latour currently resides in Montréal.
