Patrick Bengio is a composer, guitarist and oudist, born and active in Montreal, Quebec, of Quebecer and Moroccan origins.

​

Surrounded by musical diversity since his youth owing to his mixed origins and the importance of music in his paternal and maternal families, he has been fascinated by the relationship between musical styles and cultures, their differences, their resemblances, and their context. He holds the conviction that all forms of music are equal in artistic magnificence and deserve a space within the creation of new music.

 

In his musical creation, his influences fuse into one musical language. This musical language possesses the subtlety of Arabic and Middle Eastern melodies, the rhythmic energy of progressive rock and the resonance of the harmonic textures of western classical music. Lastly it unravels evolutive and dreamlike forms, leaving space for the discovery of possibility.

​

​

​

Training

He completed his Master's degree in western classical composition under the supervision of Denis Gougeon (2016-2019), and his Baccalaureat under the supervision of Pierre Michaud (2011-2014) at the Université de Montréal. He studied classical guitar under the supervision of Bruno Perron à the Cégep de l'École de Musique Vincent d'Indy (2007-2010).

 

He studied 'oud with Mohamed Masmoudi (2019), persian music and modal improvisation with Kiya Tabassian, diphonic Tuva singing with Mongun-ool Ondar (2020), classical vocal technique with Julie Beaulieu (2019), Georgian singing with Carl Linich (2018) and Frank Kane (2017), Corsician singing with the group I Muvrini (2017), Dhrupad Indian singing with the Gundecha Brothers (2016, 2019) and Gamelan Gong Kebyar with I Dewa Made Suparta (2011-2012) and Éric Vandal (2013-2014).

 

 

Musical composition

​

Patrick Bengio has composed for several types of instrumentations and ensembles.

​

He is active in choir music. In september 2022, he founded Canopées, an ensemble interpreting his choir music. Its first concert, ''Ce qui est vu par l'oeil de la forêt'', took place in december 2022, and its second ''Chemins vers la clairière'', in june 2023. Canopées performed for designer Lakuachimoto's collection Les Nocturnes at the M.A.D. festival in August 2023. Canopées's third concert ''Architecture de la sérénité'' took place in december 2023 and it's fourth, ''Nos souffles'', in june 2024.
 

​For other classical choirs, his music was performed in concert by the Choeur du Brouhaha (2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2024), with, in june 2024, a creation for choir and gamelan with the Choeur du Brouhaha and the ensemble Giri Kedaton. His music was also performed by the Choeur de l'Art Neuf (2018), the Choeur des Voix Parallèles (2022) and the Choeur des Voix Parallèles with the Chambristes de la Montérégie (2015).

''La Maison de la Musique'' (2021) is one his greatest piece in terms of instrumental complexity and creative depth. In a vast space are installed 16 speakers each playing a different musical track. Each track itself may contain from one to a dozen instruments. This multitude of sounds form a unique piece in which spectators can wander and explore every corner of this sonic ecosystem.​

​

For the balinese ensemble Gamelan Gong Kebyar, his music was created by members of Giri Kedaton (2017), and by the Atelier de Gamelan de l'UdeM (2014, 2017).

 

For western classical orchestra, his music was created in reading by the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (2016) and by the Orchestre de l'Université de Montréal (2014), as well as in concert by the Ensemble de guitares de l'école des jeunes de l'UdeM (2013).

 

He has composed for interdisciplinary art projets, including a contemporary dance with the choreographer Faby Guillén (2017), a theater play (2010) and a poetic-philosophical performance with the director Carlo Bengio (2015). He has composed the soundtrack for animation movies with the director Manisa Hope (2017, 2020, 2023). Strong testimony of Manisa Hope's talent, work quality and perseverance, the short film ''The Hoopoe and the Owls'' has encountered beautiful succes in film festivals throughout the world. It has been screened at 21 occasions since its creation in 2017, in Québec (including the Fantasia Festival and the Cinémathèque québécoise), in Canada, in the United States, in Europe (Czech Republic, Albania, Romania, Greece), in Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Brazil), in Indonesia, Australia, Turkey and Nigeria.

His electroacoustic pieces were featured in the Cerle des Étudiant.es Compositeur.trices de l'UdeM concert (2017) as well as in the Électro-Buzz concert (2012).

​
 

Instrumentist and performer

​

He performs his musical creations for guitar, 'oud, voice, percussion, as well as other acoustic or electronic instruments – notably in ''La Maison de la Musique'' (2021), for which he recorded and produced more than fifty tracks.

He performs as choir director in concert for Canopées since 2022. He has perfomed on 'oud at the Festival du Centre des Musiciens du Monde (2019), and was active with the Choeur du Brouhaha as a choir singer (2014-2020), as well being rehearser (2015-2020), codirector (2020-2021) and choirmaster (2021). He also sang in the Choeur des Voix Parallèles (2015-2016, 2019-2020) and was percussionist in the Gamelan Giri Kedaton (2018-2019) and the Atelier de Gamelan de l'UdeM (2013-2014, 2017).