The French-Canadian violinist, pedagogue and composer Jean
Cousineau has died in Montreal at the age of 75. He was hailed by
Shin'ichi Suzuki as the most important violin teacher in North
America for his influential work with early learners, and the
Montreal academy that he established has been credited with
transforming string teaching in Quebec.
In the early 1960s Cousineau developed a violin method for young
people, inspired by Suzuki principles, travelling to Japan in 1965
to consult Suzuki about its content. The same year, he returned to
Canada to found Montreal’s École Les Petits Violons to train young
violinists from the age of five. In 1974 he established the
performing group Les Petits Violons for his more advanced students,
which became a regular fixture at numerous music festivals. He
counted Chantal Juillet, Angèle Dubeau and Martin Chalifour among
his many pupils.
Cousineau was also a prolific composer, and wrote and arranged
extensively for his Les Petits Violons ensemble. He composed the
scores to several Canadian TV series and feature films, including
Mon oncle Antoine, Pour la suite du monde and
Toureau.
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