Chronological list of Canadian classical composers

This is a list of notable Canadian classical music composers ^{[1] [2] [3]} ordered by date of birth.

Baroque

• Charles-Amador Martin (1648–1711)

Classical

• Joseph Quesnel (1746–1809)

Romantic

• Stephen Codman (c. 1796–1852)
• James P. Clarke (1807/8–1877)
• Robert Ambrose (1824–1908)
• Jean-Baptiste Labelle (1825–1898)
• Célestin Lavigueur (1831-1885)
• Ernest Gagnon (1834–1915)
• Adélard Joseph Boucher (1835–1912)
• Frantz Jehin-Prume (1839–1899)
• Calixa Lavallée (1842–1891)
• Gustave Gagnon (1842–1930)
• Romain-Octave Pelletier I (1843–1927)
• Joseph-A. Fowler (1845–1917)
• Guillaume Couture (1851–1915)
• J. E. P. Aldous (1853–1934)
• Alexis Contant (1858–1918)
• Alfred De Sève (1858–1927)
• W. O. Forsyth (1859–1937)

Post romantic/Early modern

• Louis-Phillipe Laurendeau (1861–1916)
• Humfrey Anger (1862–1913)
• Charles A.E. Harriss (1862–1929)
• Achille Fortier (1864–1939)
• Clarence Lucas (1866–1947)
• Paul Ambrose (1868–1941)
• Frédéric Pelletier (1870–1944)
• W. H. Hewlett (1873–1940)
• Joseph Allard (1873–1947)
• Romain Pelletier (1875–1953)
• Donald Heins (1878–1949)
• Henri Miro (1879–1950)
• Healey Willan (1880–1968)
• Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943)
• Alfred La Liberté (1882–1952)
• W.H. Anderson (1882–1955)
• Robert Graham Manson (1883–1950)
• J.-J. Gagnier (1885–1949)
• Albertine Morin-Labrecque (1886 or 1890–1957)
• Albert Chamberland (1886–1975)
• Frank Marsales (1886–1975)
• Henri Gagnon (1887–1961)
• Allard de Ridder (1887–1966)
• Rodolphe Mathieu (1890–1962)
• Lydia Boucher (1890–1971)
• Claude Champagne (1891–1965)
• Alexander Chuhaldin (1892–1951)
• René Gagnier (1892–1951)
• Omer Létourneau (1891–1983)
• Léo-Pol Morin (1892–1941)
• Ernest MacMillan (1893–1973)
• Alfred Mignault (1895–1961)
• Joseph Beaulieu (1895–1965)
• Amice Calverley (1896–1959)
• Eugène Lapierre (1899–1970)
• Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté (1899–1974)

Modern/Early postmodern

• Colin McPhee (1900–1964)
• Hector Gratton (1900–1970)
• Isabelle Delorme (1900–1991)
• Lionel Daunais (1901–1982)
• Gabriel Cusson (1903–1972)
• Morris Davis (1904–1968)
• Allan McIver (1904–1969)
• Conrad Bernier (1904–1988)
• Charles Houdret (1905–after 1964)
• Bruce Holder (1905–1987)
• Albertine Caron-Legris (1906–1972)
• Murray Adaskin (1906–2002)
• Boris Berlin (1907–2001)
• Lucien Martin (1908–1950)
• Jean Coulthard (1908–2000)
• Jean Deslauriers (1909–1978)
• Walter MacNutt (1910–1996)
• Charles Jones (1910–1997)
• Patricia Blomfield Holt (1910–2003)
• Otto Joachim (1910–2010)
• Keith Bissell (1912–1992)
• Graham George (1912–1993)
• Johana Harris (1912–1995)
• Barbara Pentland (1912–2000)
• Lucio Agostini (1913–1996)
• Violet Archer (1913–2000)
• John Weinzweig (1913–2006)
• Henry Brant (1913–2008)
• Hugh Le Caine (1914–1977)
• Émilien Allard (1915–1977)
• Ricky Hyslop (1915–1998)
• Alexander Brott (1915–2005)
• James Gayfer (1916–1997)
• Jean Papineau-Couture (1916–2000)
• Gaston Allaire (1916–2011)
• Richard Johnston (1917–1997)
• Herbert Belyea (1917–2001)
• Samuel Dolin (1917–2002)
• Robert Farnon (1917–2005)
• Oskar Morawetz (1917–2007)
• Godfrey Ridout (1918–1984)
• Gordon Delamont (1918–1981)
• Lorne Betts (1918–1985)
• Louis Applebaum (1918–2000)
• Gerald Bales (1919–2002)
• Talivaldis Kenins (1919–2008)
• István Anhalt (1919–2020)
• Udo Kasemets (1919–2014)
• Neil Chotem (1920–2008)
• Robert Turner (1920–2012)
• Howard Cable (1920–2016)
• Robert Fleming (1921–1976)
• Kelsey Jones (1922–2004)
• Harry Freedman (1922–2005)
• Jocelyne Binet (1923–1968)
• Kenneth G. Mills (1923–2004)
• Jack Kane (1924–1961)
• Mort Garson (1924–2008)
• Harry Somers (1925–1999)
• Pierre Brabant (1925–2014)
• Gérald Gagnier (1926–1961)
• Victor Bouchard (1926–2011)
• Alan Detweiler (1926–2012)
• Raymond Daveluy (1926–2016)
• François Morel (1926–2018)
• Clermont Pépin (1926–2006)
• Pierre Mercure (1927–1966)
• John Beckwith (born 1927)
• Dolores Claman (1927–2021)
• Carleton Elliott (1928–2003)
• Lloyd Blackman (1928–2014)
• André Mathieu (1929–1968)
• Serge Garant (1929–1986)
• Alfred Kunz (1929–2019)
• Alcides Lanza (born 1929)
• Roger Matton (1929–2004)
• Ron Collier (1930–2003)
• Gustav Ciamaga (1930–2011)
• Hugh Davidson (1930–2014)
• Richard Hunt (1930–2011)
• Ruth Lomon (1930–2017)
• Milton Barnes (1931–2001)
• F. R. C. Clarke (1931–2009)
• Derek Holman (1931–2019)
• Rudolf Komorous (born 1931)
• Glenn Gould (1932–1982)
• Michael Colgrass (1932–2019)
• Boyd McDonald (born 1932)
• Walter Buczynski (born 1933)
• R. Murray Schafer (born 1933)
• Ben McPeek (1934–1981)
• Srul Irving Glick (1934–2002)
• Norma Beecroft (born 1934)
• Jack Behrens (born 1935)
• John Arpin (1936–2007)
• Milan Kymlicka (1936–2008)
• Léon Bernier (1936–2011)
• Malcolm Forsyth (1936–2011)
• Hagood Hardy (1937–1997)
• Ann Southam (1937–2010)
• Michael Conway Baker (born 1937)
• Diana McIntosh (born 1937)
• Jacques Hétu (1938–2010)
• Alain Gagnon (1938–2017)
• Robert Aitken (born 1939)
• Victor Davies (born 1939)
• Bruce Mather (born 1939)
• Marc Bélanger (born 1940)
• John Wyre (1941–2006)
• Brian Cherney (born 1942)
• José Evangelista (1943―2023)
• Larry Lake (1943–2013)
• Anne Lauber (born 1943)
• John Mills-Cockell (born 1943)
• James Montgomery (born 1943)
• John Hawkins (1944–2007)
• John Fodi (1944–2009)
• Bruce Carlson (born 1944)
• Raynald Arseneault (1945–1995)

Contemporary/Postmodern

• Bruce Cockburn (born 1945)
• Yves Daoust (born 1946)
• René Dupéré (born 1946)
• Yves Lapierre (born 1946)
• Michel Longtin (born 1946)
• Nikolai Korndorf (1947–2001)
• Walter Boudreau (born 1947)
• Clifford Ford (born 1947)
• Steven Gellman (born 1947)
• Peter Paul Koprowski (born 1947)
• Gene Martynec (born 1947)
• Claude Vivier (1948–1983)
• Stephen Brown (born 1948)
• Jim Hiscott (born 1948)
• Lubomyr Melnyk (born 1948)
• Marjan Mozetich (born 1948)
• Chan Ka Nin (born 1949)
• David Foster (born 1949)
• Fariborz Lachini (born 1949)
• Alexina Louie (born 1949)
• Denis Bédard (born 1950)
• Christian Calon (born 1950)
• Stephen Chatman (born 1950)
• Michael Matthews (born 1950)
• John Burke (1951–2020)
• Lisle Ellis (born 1951)
• Denis Gougeon (born 1951)
• Peter Allen (born 1952)
• Gilles Bellemare (born 1952)
• Jacques Faubert (born 1952)
• David MacIntyre (born 1952)
• Peter Hannan (born 1953)
• Christos Hatzis (born 1953)
• Scott Irvine (born 1953)
• Robin Minard (born 1953)
• Gary Kulesha (born 1954)
• Denys Bouliane (born 1955)
• Eleanor Joanne Daley (born 1955)
• Jean Derome (born 1955)
• William Beauvais (born 1956)
• Timothy Brady (born 1956)
• Paul Dolden (born 1956)
• Larysa Kuzmenko (born 1956)
• Linda Bouchard (born 1957)
• René Lussier (born 1957)
• Mychael Danna (born 1958)
• Colin Eatock (born 1958)
• Andrew Paul MacDonald (born 1958)
• John Abram (born 1959)
• James Gelfand (born 1959)
• James Keelaghan (born 1959)
• Omar Daniel (born 1960)
• Amin Bhatia (born 1961)
• John Burge (born 1961)
• Andrew Ager (born 1962)
• Ned Bouhalassa (born 1962)
• Arne Eigenfeldt (born 1962)
• Alain Lefèvre (born 1962)
• Leo Marchildon (born 1962)
• Allison Cameron (born 1963)
• Veronika Krausas (born 1963)
• Edwin Orion Brownell (born 1964)
• Benoît Charest (born 1964)
• Jeff Danna (born 1964)
• Brent Lee (born 1964)
• Allan Gilliland (born 1965)
• John Estacio (born 1966)
• Melissa Hui (born 1966)
• David Kristian (born 1967)
• André Éric Létourneau (born 1967)
• Lesley Barber (born 1968)
• Éric Morin (born 1969)
• Jocelyn Morlock (born 1969)
• Desmond Gaspar (born 1970)
• Chris Harman (born 1970)
• Analia Llugdar (born 1972)
• Emily Doolittle (born 1972)
• Airat Ichmouratov (born 1973)
• Derek Charke (born 1974)
• Kati Agócs (born 1975)
• Jimmie LeBlanc (born 1977)
• Andrew Staniland (born 1977)
• Aaron Gervais (born 1980)
• Christopher Mayo (born 1980)
• Vahram Sargsyan (born 1980)
• Samuel Andreyev (born 1981)
• Kyle Bobby Dunn (born 1986)
• Sarah Davachi (born 1987)

Jazz and other composers (listed alphabetically)

• Moe Koffman (1928–2001)
• Phil Nimmons (born 1923)
• Robert Normandeau (born 1955)
• Oscar O'Brien (1892–1958)
• Michael Oesterle (born 1968)
• John Oliver (born 1959)
• Charles O'Neill (1882–1964)
• John Oswald (born 1953)
• Owen Pallett (born 1979)
• Donald Patriquin (born 1938)
• Trevor W. Payne (born 1948)
• Kenneth Peacock (1922–2000)
• Paul Pedersen (born 1935)
• Oscar Peterson (1925–2007)
• Michel Perrault (born 1925)
• Jean Piché (born 1951)
• Dave Pierce (born 1972)
• Randolph Peters (born 1959)
• Benoît Poirier (1882–1965)
• Paul Pratt (1894–1967)
• Albert Pratz (1914–1995)
• André Prévost (1934–2001)
• Harry Puddicombe (1870–1953)
• Donald Quan (born 1962)
• Allan Rae (born 1942)
• Imant Raminsh (born 1943)
• Jan Randall (born 1952)
• Eldon Rathburn (1916–2008)
• Elizabeth Raum (born 1945)
• John Rea (born 1944)
• William Reed (1859–1945)
• Bill Richards (1923–1995)
• Doug Riley (1945–2007)
• André Ristic (born 1972)
• Normand Roger (born 1949)
• Stan Rogers (1949–1983)
• James Rolfe (born 1961)
• Ivan Romanoff (1914–1997)
• Clark Ross (born 1957)
• Myke Roy (born 1950)
• Stéphane Roy (born 1959)
• Welford Russell (c.1901–1975)
• Jeffrey Ryan (born 1962)
• Marc Sabat (born 1965)
• Charles Wugk Sabatier (1819–1862)
• Patrick Saint-Denis (born 1975)
• Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux (1938–1985)
• Herbert Sanders (1878–1938)
• Armando Santiago (born 1932)
• Charles Sauvageau (1807–1849)
• Oliver Schroer (1956–2008)
• Ernest Seitz (1892–1978)
• Paul Shaffer (born 1949)
• Rodney Sharman (born 1958)
• Howard Shore (born 1946)
• Anita Sleeman (1930–2011)
• Linda Catlin Smith (born 1957)
• Leo Smith (1881–1952)
• David Squires (born 1957)
• Paul Steenhuisen (born 1965)
• Ben Steinberg (born 1930)
• Donald Steven (born 1945)
• Fred Stone (1935–1986)
• Timothy Sullivan (born 1954)
• Norman Symonds (1920–1998)
• Boleslaw Szczeniowski (1898–1995)
• Robert Talbot (1893–1954)
• Georges-Émile Tanguay (1893–1964)
• Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann (1855–1946)
• Steve Tittle (born 1935)
• Peter Togni (born 1959)
• Roman Toi (born 1916)
• Jerry Toth (1928–1999)
• Rudy Toth (1925–2009)
• Bramwell Tovey (born 1953)
• Jiří Traxler (born 1912)
• Amédée Tremblay (1876–1949)
• George Tremblay (1911–1982)
• Gilles Tremblay (born 1932)
• Barry Truax (born 1947)
• Ian Tyson (born September 25, 1933)
• Owen Underhill (born 1954)
• Jean Vallerand (1915–1994)
• Stéphane Venne (born 1941)
• Benoît Verdickt (1884–1970)
• Joseph Vézina (1849–1924)
• Albert Viau (1910–2001)
• Michael Vincent (born 1976)
• Augustus Stephen Vogt (1861–1926)
• Calvin Vollrath (born 1960)
• Arnold Walter (1902–1973)
• Ruth Watson Henderson (born 1932)
• Frank Welsman (1873–1952)
• John Welsman (born 1955)
• Hildegard Westerkamp (born 1946)
• Dinuk Wijeratne
• Eric Wild (1910–1989)
• Rick Wilkins (born 1937)
• Charles Wilson (born 1931)
• Scott Wilson (born 1969)
• Édouard Woolley (1916–1991)
• Kathleen Yearwood (born 1958)
• Gayle Young (born 1950)
• Maurice Zbriger (1896–1981)
• Rui Shi Zhuo (born 1956)
• Joel Zimmerman (born 1981)
• León Zuckert (1904–1992)

See also

• Canadian classical music
• List of Canadian composers

1. Skowronski, Adela (2022-07-01). "Canadian Composers: 13 You Should Know (Playlist)". WFMT. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
2. "Six Canadian Composers You Should Know". Vancouver Classical Music. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
3. "ROUNDUP | 10 Canadian Composers Who Are Redefining Classical Music". Ludwig van Toronto. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2025-12-08.