Renowned for his vivid soundscapes and inventive texts, pianist and writer Pierre-André Doucet is a leading voice among Canada’s newest generation of artists.
In addition to having been heard on NPR, Radio-Canada, Espace musique, and CBC Radio's Next! series, Mr. Doucet has also been featured on CBC Radio 2's list of 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30. Recent musical projects have seen him perform extensively across Canada, as well as in Austria, France, Germany, South Africa, Spain and the United States. He has also performed aboard the ms Koningsdam as a member of its inaugural Lincoln Center Stage piano quintet, a collaboration between the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Holland America Line.
Mr. Doucet has been a guest soloist with several orchestras in Canada and South Africa, under the leadership of Airat Ichmouratov, Carel Henn, Stéphane Laforest and Véronique Lussier. An engaging chamber musician and vocal pianist, he frequently works with countless established singers, choirs, instrumentalists and ensembles, including members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the roster of the Metropolitan Opera.
Winner of the prestigious Knigge Piano Competition, Mr. Doucet has also been a laureate of the Women's Musical Club of Toronto Career Development Award Competition and the Prix d’Europe. Furthermore, he has been recognized for his evocative and compelling readings of contemporary scores at the Ibiza International Piano Competition, as well as the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition alongside his duo partner, soprano Alexandra Smither. His ardent work in disseminating new music has also led him to premiere works by William Bolcom, Mark Carlson, Richard Gibson, Hendrik Hofmeyr, Libby Larsen, Nicole Lizée, Pierre Michaud, Jared A. Miller, Jocelyn Morlock, and Alan L. Smith.
Mr. Doucet has been a guest professor at l’Université de Montréal, where he completed doctoral studies in 2016 under the tutelage of Maneli Pirzadeh. Previously, he studied with Richard Boulanger at l’Université de Moncton. Additional studies have allowed him to perfect his craft and perform at the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, the Franz-Schubert-Institut, Toronto Summer Music, the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival, the Orford Festival, the Gijón International Piano Festival, Internationaler Klaviersommer Bad Bertrich, Opera on the Avalon, the Vancouver International Song Institute and as recipient of a Stern Fellowship at Songfest. Through these experiences, he has benefited from masterclasses with such luminaries as Sir Thomas Allen, Elly Ameling, Helmut Deutsch, Julius Drake, Margo Garrett, Marilyn Horne, Graham Johnson, Warren Jones, Kiri Te Kanawa, Martin Katz, Rosemarie Landry, Christa Ludwig, Robert McDonald, Michael McMahon, Francis Perron, Paul Stewart, Sanford Sylvan, Dawn Upshaw, Roger Vignoles and Howard Watkins. He has received financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Joseph-Armand Bombardier Graduate Scholarship), the Fonds québécois de recherche en société et culture, the Canadian Art Song Foundation, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the New Brunswick Arts Council.
Pierre-André Doucet has been published in Ancrages, Impossible Archetype and Voix plurielles. His first collection of poetry and short stories, Sorta comme si on était déjà là (Éditions Prise de parole), was shortlisted for the Prix littéraire Émile-Ollivier, in addition to having earned him the Discovery of the Year award at the Gala des Prix Éloizes. He has also been awarded the Antonine-Maillet-Acadie Vie Literary Award for Kilométrage (Prix Volet jeunesse Richelieu), and was twice a finalist at the Francophone Games, in Beirut and Nice. Following his stay in Lebanon, Mr. Doucet served as Artistic Director of the Suites du Phénix, a literary blog featuring work by emerging francophone writers.
A community-minded artist, Mr. Doucet has spent almost fifteen years administering non-profit organisations dedicated to culture, language rights, health, leadership and arts education. He currently serves as Co-Artistic Director of Barachois Summer Music, in his native New Brunswick.