|
Benoît Mernier was born in
1964 in Belgium. A laureat of the National Music Competition in 1982, he
studied organ and improvisation with Firmin Decerf and harpsichord with
Charles Koenig. He continued his studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Liège
where he graduated in many subjects, including the Higher Diploma in organ
in the class of Jean Ferrard, for whom he was the assistant for several
years.
He also studied with Bernard Foccroulle and with Jean Boyer at the National
Regional Conservatoire of Lille, where he obtained the Diplôme de
Perfectionnement.
Along with the organ, Benoît Mernier has devoted himself to composition. In
this field, he was able to profit from the counsels of Philippe Boesmans.
His organ composition Artifices was the prizewinner of the 1990 UNESCO
International Composers' Tribune. In 1995 the Royal Academy of Belgium
awarded him the Fuérison Prize for his Blake Songs for voice and chamber
orchestra. His Clarinet Quintet was awarded the Paul Gilson Prize of the
French-speaking Public Radios in 1999.
His works have been played by groups and performers such as the Arditti
Quartet, the Ensemble Modern,, the Danel Quartet, Ictus ensemble, the
Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, the
Brno Philharmonic Orchestra , the Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien,…
His first opera « Frühlings Erwachen » was commissioned by the Théâtre Royal
de la Monnaie (Brussels) (World premiere : Brussels : March 2007- French
premiere : Opéra du Rhin/Strasbourg : September 2008).
These works are featured in several CDs released on the Cypres label
(www.cypres-records.com), one of them having won the Snepvangers Prize
awarded in 2001 by the Belgian Musical Press Union.
As an organist, he performs a very varied repertoire in many concerts
thoughout Europe. He has given several master classes and summer courses
with special attention to the Livre d'Orgue of Olivier Messiaen.
His recordings include performances as a soloist or a continuo player for
both CDs and the Belgian, Canadian and French radios. One of his CDs was
awarded the Grand Prix of the Académie Charles Cros du Disque in 1996.
In 2008, he is artist-in-residence with the Festival de Wallonie.
Benoît Mernier is organist of Notre Dame du Sablon in Brussels. He teaches
organ, improvisation and musical analysis at Institut Supérieur de Musique
et de Pédagogie in Namur. |
