|
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.
A book called "The spring awakening, birth of an opera" has been
dedicated to him by Mardaga Publishing.
His new opera "La Dispute" after Marivaux, commissioned by La Monnaie,
will be created in 2013 in a staging and in a libretto by Ursel &
Karl-Ernst Herrmann. It will be published by Durand (Universal Music
Publishing).
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.
As from 2007, he has been a permanent member of the Belgian Academy of
Arts, Fine-Arts department.
|
