MAXIME BÉGIN

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Born and raised in Quebec City,  Maxime Bégin grew up in a family that placed great importance on education, art and the French language, it is guided by these values and passions that Maxime Bégin chose his career path. Following ten years of private piano study, he pursued music at Cégep de Saint-Laurent and at the University of Montreal where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Classical piano interpretation. He then went on to specialize at Université Laval where he earned two master’s degrees in music (piano interpretation and instrumental didactics).

In 2010, after having worked as a musician on Canadian and international stages and teaching piano for over 10 years, Maxime Bégin discovered his passion for music education,  which led him to the University of Ottawa to complete a bachelor’s degree in education. He was then hired by the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario.
Throughout his career as a musician, he has won numerous awards and distinctions and he has performed on several renowned stages and in a multitude of events of all kinds, as a soloist, chamber musician, musical director and accompanist.
Maxime Bégin currently teaches at École élémentaire publique Julie-Payette, where he strives to spread his passion for music to more than 600 kids. He was awarded the CEPEO Builders of Excellence award in 2017 as well as the Bernard Grandmaître award for Educational Instructor of the Year in 2018. He is the founder and choir director of Les Petits Chanteurs de Kanata and Choeur de l’Ouest of the Maison de la Francophonie d’Ottawa. It was his passion for choral music that led him to compose and arrange various works drawn from Quebec and French Canadian folklore, to which he strives to restore his letters of nobility.

Dans la Prison de Londres

arr. Maxime Bégin

SSA with piano – CP 1856 – duration 2:40
SA with piano – CP 1859
SATB with piano – CP 1994
This song, known in France under the title Dans les prisons de Nantes, originated in Basse-Loire in the XVII century and crossed the Atlantic with the exiles who arrived in Nouvelle-France. It has since been popularized by many artists, including Edith Piaf, Nana Mouskouri and Louise Forestier. It is presented here in a catchy and full of surprises arrangement that will offer a fun challenge to choirs of all levels.