FRANCIS
ST-GERMAIN
ST-GERMAIN
Francis St-Germain is a music composer, sound artist and performer based in Montreal. He explores themes of transcendence and determinism in contemporary society, blending instrumental, acousmatic, and algorithmic composition with performance art and improvisation. His recent work addresses the different facets of the malaise of contemporary liminality, reflecting the unease stemming from the tension between the analog and digital worlds, driven by the increasing ubiquity of cyberspace. In parallel, he investigates the influence of spiritual practices and the development of psychic abilities within the creative realm.
His work has been presented in Canada, Estonia, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. He has received commissions from various ensembles and instrumentalists, such as the Quatuor Cobalt, Duo Alteris, Ensemble CoPeCo, trumpeter Émilie Fortin, pianist Carolina Santiago Martínez, violinist Simon Alexandre, and guitarist An-Laurence Higgins, as well as from theater productions including Transfuge (CA), Les Gouffres Amers (FR), and Tête au Corps (CA).
Francis St-Germain earned a Master's degree in contemporary performance and composition from the inter-European CoPeCo program at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg in 2023, mentored by Alexander Schubert and Fredrik Schwenk. He holds a Bachelor's degree in mixed composition from the Université de Montréal, where he studied with Pierre Michaud and Ana Sokolović. His composition mentors include Helena Tulve, Taavi Kerikmäe, Matthias Sköld, Marie Samuelsson, Konstantina Orlandatou, Hara Alonso, Michele Tadini, Jean Geoffroy, Georg Hajdu, Martin Bédard, Georges Forget, and André Hamel.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, Francis works as a massage therapist and Reiki Grandmaster.
Background video by Jared Pike