Fascinated and inspired by the connections between different forms of artistic expression, Montreal-based composer Maxime Goulet explores various realms of musical creation, from symphonies to operas, and even video game music… going so far as to set the flavors of chocolate to music!
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The album Maxime Goulet: Symphonie de la tempête de verglas recorded by the Orchestre Classique de Montréal and Jacques Lacombe wins the 2024 Juno Award for best classical album (large ensemble).
Creativity
An orchestral suite meant to accompany chocolate tasting, a piano concerto as a soundtrack for a chess match, a fishing story mimed by a costumed clarinetist, a crowd game for beach ball and orchestra, an 8-bit concertino, a workout for orchestra, a mashup of 35 anthems… With his communicative musical language and the originality of his concepts, the Montreal based composer Maxime Goulet connects with audiences from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences, from youth audiences to savvy music aficionados. His music is written in a contemporary tonal style and has been described as “skillful, immediately pleasant and very cinematographic”, “melodic and narrative”, “a mix of simplicity, of modernity and of humour”, and “an immediate connection with the audience”. His album Symphonic Chocolates has been described as “an off-the-wall idea that makes classical music more festive”.
In Concert
His works have been performed across the world by leading ensembles such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Liege Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera, the Orchestre Régional de Normandie, the National Art Center Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Toledo Symphony, Ensemble symphonique de Neuchâtel, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Pacific Opera Victoria, Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, the Endless Mountain Music Festival Orchestra, ROCO, the Oakville Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, the Conway Symphony Orchestra, and the Stratford Symphony Orchestra.
His works are now part of orchestra’s regular repertoire. Symphonic Chocolates has been performed more than 75 times, Citius, altius, fortius! more than 35 times, and On Halloween Night is performed each year during the Halloween period by many orchestras. Some of his works are included in the acclaimed David Daniels Orchestral Music Handbook, a sourcebook for planning orchestral programs. Also, the soprano aria “Song of Persistence”, from his opera The Flight of the Hummingbird, is part of the Canadian Opera Anthology.
Recordings
The album Maxime Goulet: Symphonie de la tempête de verglas, recorded by the Orchestre Classique de Montréal and Jacques Lacombe, features his works Ice Storm Symphony, What a Day, and Fishing Story, has won a Juno Award and was nominated for a Prix Opus award. His mash-up United Anthems was recorded by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and is featured on the album Canada Mosaic – Sesquies. His Olympic ouverture Citius, altius, fortius! is featured on the album Les plaisirs coupables of the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke and on the album Jean-Willy Kunz Au grand orgue de Pierre-Béique. His orchestral suite Symphonic Chocolates was recorded by the Prague FILMharmonic Orchestra and is featured on the album Chocolats symphoniques.
Residencies
Maxime Goulet was Composer-in-Residence for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada (2011-2012), as part of the Brott Music Festival, and for the McGill Chamber Orchestra (2013-2014).
News
He is currently composing an orchestral work for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as well as an opera for the Vancouver Opera and the Pacific Opera Victoria. Both works are planned to be premiered during the 2024-2025 season.
Interview with Maxime Goulet about the Juno award for his album Maxime Goulet: Symphonie de la tempête de verglas
Interview with Maxime Goulet about his composition Symphonic Chocolates
Driven by the desire to make music more interactive, the Montreal based composer Maxime Goulet scored more than 30 video games such as Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade, Roller Coaster Tycoon World, The Amazing Spider-Man, Dungeon Hunter-I, II, III, IV, Shrek Forever After, Brothers in arms 2: Global Front, Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War, Iron Man 2, Order and Chaos and Backstab. His score for Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade and Dungeon Hunter IV were nominated for best original music at the Canadian Video Game Award and his score for One More Gate was nominated for best interactive music at the Canadian Screen Music Award (CASMA). His game music has been described as “supporting the look and feel of the game with both emotion and atmosphere, giving it a close to filmic quality”, “a music that brings out the best of every moment”, “one of the, if not the, best looking and sounding games on the iTunes store”, “a mind blowing soundtrack”, “powerful and effective”, “as epic as you can get” and “a particular standout”.
As composer, conceptor and artistic coordinator, Maxime Goulet created The Montreal Video Game Symphony, a multi-media concert that combines the power of the symphony orchestra and the immersive and interactive world of gaming.
Maxime Goulet produced, wrote, and scored the short animated film 21, animated and directed by Yann Ben Alluch.
Interview with Maxime Goulet about his music for the video game Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade
Interview with Maxime Goulet about his Montreal Video Game Symphony concert for the 375th Anniversary of the City of Montreal
Maxime Goulet holds a Master’s degree in Composition from the University of Montreal where he studied with Alan Belkin (2007) and has participated in the Canadian Contemporary Music Workshop directed par Gary Kulesha (2007), in addition to master classes at the Festival international du film d’Aubagne in France (2007), at the Orchestration for Film Workshop with Scott Smalely in New York (2008), and at the ASCAP Flim Scoring Workshop in Los Angeles (2009) where he recorded his music at the 20th Century Fox Studios with the Hollywood Studio Symphony. He now teaches composition at the University of Sherbrooke.
Maxime Goulet was born in Montreal, on June 7th, 1980.