Background
Born in Montreal, Papineau-Couture is the grandson of conductor and composer Guillaume Couture. As a child he studied piano with his mother.
Born in Montreal, Papineau-Couture is the grandson of conductor and composer Guillaume Couture. As a child he studied piano with his mother.
He first studied privately in Montreal with Gabriel Cusson before entering the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1937. He then attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he received a Bachelor of Music in 1941.
He studied with Nadia Boulanger at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Returning to Quebec, Papineau-Couture's teaching career started in 1946 when he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he stayed until 1962. He also taught in the Faculty of Music at the Université de Montréal.
He was named vice-dean in 1967 and dean from 1968 until 1973. Two of his notable pupils were François Morel and Pierre Rolland.
In 1962 Papineau-Couture was awarded the Calixa-Lavallée Award. In 1968, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1993. In 1989, he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec. Papineau-Couture received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 1994 for his contribution to classical music.
President Centre de Musique Canadienne, 1973-1974, Société de musiquecontemporaine du Québec, 1966-1973, Canadian Music Council, 1968-1969. Member Conseil canadien de Recherches pour les Sciences humaines, 1973-1979. Board directors Encyclopedia Canadian Music.
Member SOCAN.
Married Isabelle Baudouin, June15, 1944 (deceased October 1987). Children— Nadia, Ghilaine, François.
