Background
Larry Beauregard was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, the third of six children of Jean-Pierre Beauregard, a French-Canadian aerospace engineer, and Irish-Canadian Michaela Moloney.
Larry Beauregard was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, the third of six children of Jean-Pierre Beauregard, a French-Canadian aerospace engineer, and Irish-Canadian Michaela Moloney.
He is best known for his work as first flute in the Ensemble InterContemporain, and for his work at IRCAM in the early 1980s, especially his collaboration with Barry Vercoe on the Synthetic Performer project Early life and musical studies
He spent his childhood and teenage years in Montreal. In 1977, he moved to Paris to study under Alain Marion at the Conservatoire de Paris.
Professional career
Upon leaving the Conservatoire de Paris in 1980, Beauregard joined the Ensemble InterContemporain under Pierre Boulez as first flute.
He also performed and recorded solo works for flute. His performance of Varèse"s Density 21.5 is included on Sony Classical"s "Flute - Greatest Hits" Civil Defense. He also performed the live solo part of Steve Reich"s "Vermont Counterpoint", accompanied by a multitrack recording of himself playing the other parts.
In the early 1980s, Beauregard was deeply involved in computer music research at the recently established IRCAM, modifying a flute with optical switches so that it could interface with the 4X computer-based audio synthesis and processing system. This eventually culminated in his work with Barry Vercoe on the Synthetic Performer, which was demonstrated at the ICMC in 1984.
Beauregard taught at several master classes, including Domaine Forget in his native Québec.
Illness and Death
In May 1985, he was diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer, and died on September 4, 1985. In his memory, the Lawrence Beauregard International Flute Competition was established. Winners of the competition include Nina Perlove, Kaoru Hinata, and Myung Joo Ahn.
Works composed in his memory include Pierre Boulez" "Mémoriale" (1985) for flute and ensemble, Philippe Manoury"s "Jupiter" (1987) for flute and electronics, and Tim Brady"s "Requiem 21.5" (2009) for solo violin and orchestra.