Hector Gratton

Joseph Thomas Hector Gratton (13 August 1900 – 16 July 1970) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and music educator. As a composer his music is written in an essentially folkloric and popular style which avoids harmonic sophistication. His compositional output includes several orchestral works, chamber works, and works for solo piano. He also wrote 4 ballets and a considerable amount of music for radio programs. In 1937 his symphonic poem Légende won the Jean Lallemand Prize which led to the work’s premiere performance that year by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under conductor Wilfrid Pelletier. The work was repeated by the orchestra in concerts the following year under conductor Sir Ernest MacMillan. Life and career Born in Hull, Quebec (now Gatineau, Quebec), Gratton studied music theory and composition with Albertine Morin-Labrecque, Oscar O’Brien, and Alfred Whitehead. He was a piano student of Alphonse Martin and Alfred La Liberté. From La Liberté he gained a great appreciation for the works and aesthetics of Nikolai Medtner and Alexander Scriabin, two composers which influenced his own compositional style. During the 1920s, Gratton toured with Charles Mar