Dom Richard Gagné

Dom Richard Gagné was born in 1954 in L’Islet-sur-Mer, Québec. He pursued his musical studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec from 1969 to 1976, earning First Prizes in organ, harmony, music history, and musicology. Returning to the Conservatoire from 1987 to 1990 to complete his training in composition, analysis, and writing, he was awarded First Prizes in counterpoint and fugue. His teachers included Claude Lavoie, Noëlla Genest, Pierick Houdy, Irène Brisson, and Pierre Genest.

He entered Saint-Benoît-du-Lac Abbey in 1976 and was ordained a priest in 1984. Alongside his monastic and theological formation, he pursued advanced organ studies with Dom André Laberge and received the core of his improvisation training from Raymond Daveluy.

Dom Gagné has appeared frequently in concert throughout Québec, and Radio-Canada has broadcast many of his improvisations. In 1991 and 1994, he was invited as an improvisation instructor for the Musique Sacrée sessions in Épinal, France.

Finally, Dom Richard Gagné succeeded Dom Jean Claire as maître de chœur at Solesmes Abbey, a position he held from 1996 to 2003, while simultaneously serving as the abbey’s principal organist from 1998 onward.