Patrick Bengio is a composer, guitarist, choir conductor and oud player, born and active in Montreal, Quebec/Canada, of Quebecer and Moroccan origins.

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Patrick Bengio's music is grounded in a daily quest: the invention and exploration of a fictive and personal universe, a dreamlike, luxuriant ecosystem of sounds.

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As we explore this universe, we meet influences of the finesse of middle-eastern melodies, progressive rock rythmic energy, and the resonance of western classical music's harmonic textures. Also participating are the influences of western medieval music, vocal georgian music, classical indian and indonesian music, the solo playing of the guitarist Joe Pass and of the oud player Hazem Shaheen.

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This whole tribe of sounds progresses in a decor that has fully taken root in Nature, in which humanity is but humble part, alongside animals and plants. Despite the modernity of the means of Patrick Bengio's music, the fiction that it tells is often located in ancient times, natural, prehistoric times. Not by nostalgia but by attraction for the benevolant beauty and inspiring stories that we can hear emanating from the Earth.

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Art is human. No AI is used in the creation of his music.

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MUSIC

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Patrick Bengio's music is expressed through different musical means.

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CANOPÉES, choir of twelve vocalists, accompanied by percussion, vocal percussion and nature sounds of all sort, is the fertile ecosystem who gave birth to more than 50 pieces since 2022, in concerts whose title are representative of Patrick Bengio's universe. Originally in french, they translate: ''What is seen by the eye of the forest'', ''Paths towards the clearing'', ''Architecture of serenity'', ''Our Breaths'', ''That to which we owe our existence'', ''Ritual: We are a forest''. This last concert, created in 2025, displays one of his major works. Preceded by its ''Prelude to a ritual'', an infinite loop that invites the audience to prepare itself to the music, ''Ritual: We are a forest'' is a 16 movements uninterrupted voyage of more than 50 minutes in duration.

 

LA MAISON DE LA MUSIQUE (2021), translated to ''The house of music'', is another of his major works. 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.

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CHANTS ET FOLIES (Chants and follies) takes a whole other approach to musical expression. Mixing composition and improvisation for solo guitar, Patrick Bengio expresses through his instrument a more intimate, direct and spontaneous version of his music.

 

TRAINING

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

 

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 COMPOSITIONS

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

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In addition to Canopées's regular concerts, Patrick Bengio is active in the choir music scene. His music was performed in concert by the Choeur du Brouhaha (2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024), 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 string quintet (2015). Canopées also performed for designer Lakuachimoto's collection Les Nocturnes at the M.A.D. festival in August 2023.

 

For Canopées's may 2025 concert, he composed for harpist Coralie Gauthier the ''Prelude to a ritual''. His choir piece for Le Choeur de l'Art Neuf included piano, percussions (Snare, Toms, Glockenspiel and Vibraphone) and one of his choir piece for Les Voix Parallèles included cello, theorbo and positive organ.
 

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). In 2024, his music was played jointly by the Choeur du Brouhaha and Giri Kedaton in the piece ''Éclats de Temps et d'Eau'' (''Flashes of Time and Water'').
 

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), whose short films were screened around the world, from Quebec (including the Fantasia Festival and the Cinémathèque québécoise) to Canada, the United States, Europe (Czech Republic, Albania, Romania, Greece), Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Brazil), Indonesia, Australia, Turkey and Nigeria.

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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).

 
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

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He performs his musical creations for classical guitar, 12 string acoustic guitar, 'oud, ukulele, 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.

In concert, he performs as choir director and singer 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).