“To compose is to listen”
“I sense there are as many sounds and musical instruments that there are colors in nature.”
For Michel Corriveau, composing film music is all about sensitivity. “The first step in the creative process is always to listen. Listen to what’s said on screen, read between the lines, and get behind the image to understand the filmmaker’s intention. It all starts from there.”
The composer captures more than just a style—he upholds an approach. Drawing on textures and an intimate knowledge of electro acoustics, the composer lends a unique shape to atmospheres by blending sound and instruments, juggling with emotions, and pairing traditional elements with leading-edge technology.
“I’m driven by diversity. I take inspiration from meeting other creators and from brainstorming and exchanging ideas with them. Ultimately, this human conversation gives rise to a dialogue between instruments.”
“Music can reflect meaning
and be an integral part of the story
without overshadowing the image.”
Over the years, award-winning and multi-nominated composer Michel Corriveau has created musical scores for several feature films and international productions, including the feature films ANNA (BIFF 2015 official selection, LAIFFA August 2016 for best score), Barrymore (starring Christopher Plummer) and Canadian all-time top Box-office Hit Bon Cop Bad Cop (starring Colm Feore, nominated for best score at the Quebec Cinema awards) as well as major television series such as Versailles (Canal+). This versatile and multi-instrumentalist composer has also worked with major American and European TV-networks including BBC, Lifetime, SYFY, Discovery, Disney, Canal +, and France 2. For Michel, composing music for the screen is all about sensitivity. “The first step in the creative process is always to listen. Listen to what’s being said on the screen, read between the lines, and get behind the image to understand the filmmaker’s intention. It all starts from there.” The composer captures more than just a style-he or she upholds an approach. Drawing on textures and an intimate knowledge of electro acoustics, the composer lends a unique shape to atmospheres by blending sound and instruments, juggling with emotions, and pairing traditional elements with leading-edge technology. Michel was raised in a musical family. A violinist and conductor, his grandfather, Philippe Filion, along with Michel’s grandmother, provided piano and violin accompaniment for silent films in the 1920s. In addition, Michel’s mother was a piano teacher. It was only fitting, therefore, that he undertook piano studies. He started to compose small pieces when he was eleven and would later acquire a Master’s degree from Boston’s Berklee College.
. Michel began his music career as a pianist in modern ballet classes where his work consisted in improvising to the movements of the ballerinas. A keyboardist, guitarist and album producer-arranger from the outset, he served as a stage & studio musician with many high-profile groups and artists (Corey Hart, Luba, Celine Dion), recording in mythical studios such as The Power Station, Atlantic Studios and Compass Point. While touring with one of Canada’s most popular bands (Luba), a major tour bus accident brought Michel back home to his primary passion and ultimate destination; the art of composing music for moving images. In the mid-1990s, he spent a few years in the world of advertising, giving him the opportunity to explore a broad spectrum of sounds, rhythms and styles on national and international campaigns for clients such as Coca Cola, McDonalds, Volkswagen, Danone, etc. Rich from this experience, Michel turned his full attention to the big screen when Canadian star director Erik Canuel invited him to compose the music for Hemingway: A Portrait, a poetic documentary that opened in IMAX theaters for the Alexander Petrov film The Old Man and the Sea (2000 Oscar Win for short animated). This project would enable him to show audiences his ability to heighten the power of words and images, channeling his passion and wealth of experiences into one overriding art form. Michel’s musical contributions to feature-length films now have him alternating between the intimate atmosphere of art house and the symphonic breadth of commercial blockbuster movies, giving him a truly unique cinematographic signature. “I’m driven by diversity. I take inspiration from meeting other creators and from brainstorming and exchanging ideas with them. Ultimately, this human conversation gives rise to a dialogue between instruments.” Today Michel, who first spawned an interest in soundtracks “listening” to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, devotes himself wholly to his youthful passion for film music. He has scored more than 50 film and television series. In 2018, he opened a second production studio with his son, also a composer, continuing the family tradition of bringing music to moving images that began three generations before. “Music has to reflect meaning, it has to be an integral part of the story without overshadowing the image.”
SOCAN
INAUGURAL WINNER OF SCREEN COMPOSER OF THE YEAR AWARD | 2017
For his work during 2016
BON COP BAD COP | 2007
WINNER
Domestic Feature Film of the Year
CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS
ANNA | 2016
Nominee for Achievement in Music
Original score
LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
ANNA | 2016
WINNER
Best Original Score Feature
GÉMEAUX AWARDS
Aller Simple | 2022
Nominee for Best Original Soundtrack | TV series | Drama/Mystery
TRUE NORTH | 2021
Winner for Best Theme TV Series All Categories
TRUE NORTH | 2021
Winner for Best Original Score TV Series
TRUE NORTH | 2020
Winner for Best Original Score TV Series
TRUE NORTH | 2020
Nominee for Best Original Score TV Series
FRAGILE | 2020
Nominee for Best All Categories Theme TV series
TRUE NORTH | 2018
Nominee for Best Original Score
Drame Series
MENSONGES IV | 2018
Nominee for Best Opening Theme
Drama Series
PREMONITIONS | 2017
Nominee for Best Original Score
Drama Series
TRUE NORTH | 2017
Nominee for Best Original Score
Drama Series
MENSONGES II | 2015
Nominee Best Original Score
Drama Series
MENSONGES | 2014
Nominee for Best Original Score
Drama Series
MENSONGES | 2014
Nominee for Best Opening Theme
Drama Series
PORTS D’ATTACHE | 2011
Best Original Score Documentary
LES LAVIGUEUR | 2008
Nominee for Best Original Music Score – Drama Series
JUTRA AWARDS
ANNA | 2016
Nominee for Best Original Score
EXIL | 2015
Nominee for Best Original Score
ÉSIMÉSAC | 2013
Nominee for Best Original Score
BON COP BAD COP | 2007
Nominee Best Original Score
LE DERNIER TUNNEL | 2005
Nominee Best Original Score
GEMINI AWARDS
ANSWERED BY FIRE | 2006
Nominee Best Original Score TV Mini Series
GENIE AWARDS
LE DERNIER TUNNEL | 2005
Nominee Best Original Score
LE SURVENANT | 2006
“Comme une Plume au Vent”
Nominee Best Original Song for a Movie
with Sylvain Cossette and Robert Marchand
FELIX AWARDS – ADISQ GALA
ANNA | 2016
Nominee Best Album of the Year – Instrumental
WATERFRONT CITIES OF THE WORLD 2016
Nominee Best Album of the year – Instrumental
OMNI | 2014
Nominee Album of the Year – Instrumental
LAC MYSTÈRE | 2014
Nominee for Best Original Soundtrack
ÉSIMÉSAC | 2013
Nominee for Album of the year – Best Original Soundtrack
PUBLICITY CLUB MONTREAL
COQS D’OR
COKE COCA-COLA | 2001
WINNER
Best Music Award
TV Advertising Campaign
WORLD TRADE CENTER – KENNEDY – CHALLENGER | 2004
WINNER
Best Music of the Year
TV Commercial
COUP DE CHAPEAU DE LA SACEM
NEZ ROUGE | 2002
QUEBEC FILM FESTIVAL IN PARIS paid a tribute to the music of
Michel Corriveau
6
TURNING POINTS
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1968
Performs When the Saints Go Marching In on the organ for a local TV ad promoting his grandfather’s music store.
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1986
Six-month convalescence following a serious bus accident while on tour. Michel uses the period to watch hundreds of films.
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1995
Founded Agogo Productions, his musical creation company.
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2001
Release of Nez Rouge, with original musical score by Michel Corriveau, his first for feature film. His work earns the Coup de chapeau de la SACEM at the Festival du cinéma québécois à Paris.
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2011
The Université du Québec à Montréal gives Michel a mandate to design a film music and musical commission course.
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2016
His musical score for the film Anna earns the award for Best Original Music Score (feature film category) at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards (LAIFFA).