About us

The initiative Musicking through Life/ Musiquer toute la vie

Welcome to the Musiquer toute la vie website!

Created in March 2023, the Musiquer toute la vie project brings together a team of researchers and graduate students who foster a dialogue on a body of knowledge about the many benefits of making music, that is, engaging in amateur musical practice throughout life. Our mission is to highlight the most educational and inclusive musical practices suited to the social and digital realities of the 21st century, while engaging in an open dialogue with the general public, including music enthusiasts, parents, music teachers, and many others.

Our Mission

We emphasize the role of science in understanding the benefits of amateur music practice at all stages of life, highlighting its positive effects on today’s musicians.

Our Objectives

To promote research by making a variety of knowledge about the benefits of amateur music practice across all life stages accessible to the public, including for individuals living with intellectual, physical disabilities, or autism spectrum disorders.
To raise awareness of the importance of amateur music practice, whether for children, adolescents, adults, or seniors.
To share music practices supported by research to stimulate creativity and engagement among today’s amateur musicians.

We are excited to accompany you on this enriching musical journey through the different stages of your life. Join us to explore the world of amateur music together!

Team

Project Manager

Francis Dubé

Professor

Laval University

Faculté de Musique

418 656-2131, poste 405322

francis.dube@mus.ulaval.ca

Francis Dubé, who holds a Ph.D. in Music Education (2006), is a Full Professor of Extracurricular Instrumental Pedagogy at the Faculty of Music, Université Laval. His research is funded, among others, by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and Heritage Canada. His interests include the use of educational games in music, the integration and promotion of technology and creativity in music teaching and learning, and informal pedagogical approaches to music education aimed at fostering the well-being of young people.

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Scientific Committee

Aimée Gaudette-Leblanc

Regular Professor

University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières

Department of Educational Sciences

819 376-5011, extension 3209

Aimee.Gaudette-Leblanc@uqtr.ca

Aimée Gaudette-Leblanc is a professor in early childhood education at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Quebec, Canada). She holds a bachelor’s degree in music therapy and a master’s degree in music education. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in music education. Her current research focuses on better understanding the connections between musical creation, parent-child relationships, and the socio-emotional development of children aged 0 to 8 years.

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Audrey-Kristel Barbeau

Professor

UQAM . Université du Québec à Montréal

Faculté de Musique

(514) 987-3000 extension 3394

barbeau.audrey_kristel@uqam.ca

Audrey-Kristel Barbeau is a professor of music education at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She holds a master’s and a doctorate in music education from McGill University and specializes in active music-making within the community, particularly with older adults. Her research focuses on the relationship between music and stress, including performance anxiety and the health benefits of musical practice. She is also interested in online music creation and its effects on various users, including amateur musicians, music teachers, and music students.

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Andrea Creech

Professor, Associate Dean, Academic and Student Affairs

McGill University

Schulich School of Music

514-398-1882

andrea.creech@mcgill.ca

Dr. Andrea Creech is a professor at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. Following an international career in musical performance, Andrea earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the Institute of Education at the University of London, where she was later appointed as a lecturer in education. She returned to Canada in 2016 as the Canada Research Chair in Community Music at Université Laval. Andrea’s research has explored a wide range of topics in both formal and informal music education settings, including interpersonal dynamics, informal learning, inclusion, lifelong learning, and music for positive development.

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Jean-Philippe Després

Associate Professor Program Director, Master’s in Music – Music Education Program Director, Master’s in Music – Music Education (with Thesis) Program Director, Doctorate in Music – Music Education

Laval University

Faculté de Musique

418 656-2131, extension 403614

jean-philippe.despres@mus.ulaval.ca

Jean-Philippe Després, Ph.D., has been an assistant professor in instrumental pedagogy at the Faculty of Music at Université Laval since September 2018. His main areas of interest include innovative approaches to music education, creativity, optimizing learning, improvisation, learning through play, and ICT. The central focus of his work is the full realization of human potential.

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Isabelle Héroux

Professor

UQAM . Université du Québec à Montréal

(514) 987-3000 extension 3350

heroux.isabelle@uqam.ca

Isabelle Héroux is a professor in the Department of Music at UQAM, where she is responsible for guitar pedagogy. With dual training in music education (Ph.D. from Université Laval) and guitar performance (Concert Diploma from the École Normale de Musique de Paris and First Prize from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal), she is active in both fields. Her research interests include guitar pedagogy and didactics, the development of educational materials, cognitive psychology, and research-creation in performance, focusing particularly on the creative processes involved in interpretative work.

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Isabelle Peretz

Professor

The University of Montreal

Faculty of Arts Sciences

Department of Psychology

514 343-5840

isabelle.peretz@umontreal.ca

Dr. Peretz is a cognitive neuropsychologist and professor of psychology at the Université de Montréal. Dr. Peretz was born and educated in Brussels, Belgium. She earned her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles under the supervision of José Morais in 1984. Shortly thereafter, she took up a faculty position at the Université de Montréal, where she has remained ever since. Dr. Peretz’s research focuses on the musical potential of ordinary individuals, its neural correlates, heritability, and its specificity compared to language. She has published over 175 scientific articles on various topics, including perception, memory, emotions, and performance.

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Valerie Peters

Professor

Laval University

Faculté de Musique

418 656-2131, extension 408247

valerie.peters@mus.ulaval.ca

Valerie Peters is a full professor at the Faculty of Music at Université Laval, with prior experience as a high school music teacher. Since 2004, she has been responsible for teaching music didactics courses for secondary education and served as program director for the Bachelor of Music Education from 2014 to 2018. Her funded research activities span several areas, including multicultural and intercultural approaches to music, understanding artistic learning and adolescent artistic engagement in the digital age, as well as collaborative research on working conditions, among other topics.

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Eve-Marie Quintin

Assistant professor

McGill Unversity

Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology (ECP)

514-398-3449

eve-marie.quintin@mcgill.ca

Dr. Quintin’s research aims to identify the cognitive, social, and neural correlates of the musical profile of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and to quantify the effects of music education on their cognitive, social, and brain functioning, as well as their development. She also studies typical development and other neurodevelopmental disorders, including fragile X syndrome, using a combination of cognitive-behavioral and brain imaging methods, as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs.

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Authors

Elena Anger

PhD candidate in music education

Laval University

Faculté de musique

Her doctoral research project focuses specifically on developing pedagogical tools for teaching music to children with motor coordination disorders.

Directed by Jonathan Bolduc

elena.anger.1@ulaval.ca

Holder of a Master’s degree in Music – Solo Performance and a Master’s degree in Instrumental Pedagogy (specializing in harp), Elena Anger is a doctoral candidate in music education at Université Laval under the supervision of Jonathan Bolduc. As a harp teacher, she has observed a lack of pedagogical tools for teaching children with learning disabilities, which inspired her doctoral project. Her research interests focus on music education for children with learning disabilities or disabilities.

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Sébastien Boucher

PhD candidate in education

UQAM . Université du Québec à Montréal

Faculté d’éducation

sebb.boucher@gmail.com

Sébastien Boucher is a doctoral candidate in Education at the Université du Québec à Montréal. As an artist, researcher, and educator, he balances his time seamlessly between the stage, books, the studio, and classrooms. His research interests revolve around, but are not limited to, the teaching-learning processes and professional practices of popular music. The pedagogical dimension of his work addresses, in particular, the psychological foundations of performance as well as informal, alternative, and innovative approaches to music education.

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Arthur Duchet

Master’s student in musicology

Laval University

Faculté de musique

Directed by Sophie Stévance

arthur.douchet.1@ulaval.ca

Pianist and master’s student in musicology, interested in medieval music in popular media as part of their studies.

Marie-Claude Mathieu

PhD candidate in music education

Laval University

Faculté de musique

marie-claude.mathieu.2@ulaval.ca

Marie-Claude Mathieu is a doctoral candidate in music education under the supervision of Valerie Peters, PhD, and a lecturer at Université Laval (Quebec, Canada). Her doctoral research focuses on musical creativity in high schools, particularly in the context of large ensembles. As part of her PhD, she will conduct a collaborative research project, creating a community of practice with music teachers who will integrate new creative activities into their teaching practices.

Diyaa Rahmani

Master’s student

The University of Montreal

Faculté de psychologie

Master’s degree in Psychology

Her field of study focuses on beat perception in individuals with dyslexia.

Directed by Isabelle Peretz

diyaa.rahmani@umontreal.ca

Diyaa has been interested in studying the effects of music on the brain since the beginning of her undergraduate studies. She focuses on the electrical responses of timing deficits in individuals with dyslexia to examine the role of feedback in fine-tuning brain oscillations.

Gabrielle Vézina

University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières

Faculté d’éducation

Master’s student

Her research interests focus on the musical practices of young families and their impact on early childhood development.

gabrielle.vezina2@uqtr.ca

Gabrielle Vézina holds a Master’s degree in Classical Singing (Conservatoire de Montréal). With 10 years of experience in music teaching, she leads early childhood music groups and manages Musique&Compagnie Estrie. Since 2023, she has been pursuing a Master’s degree in Education at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Her research interests focus on the musical practices of young families and their impact on early childhood development.