About Gilles Lefebvre

May 27, 2001
Gilles Lefebvre, man of influence, passion, and dreams…

In 1949, inspired by Jeunesses Musicales of France, Gilles Lefebvre, together with Father J.H. Lemieux, Anaïs Allard-Rousseau, and Laurette Desruisseaux-Boisvert, founded Jeunesses Musicales of Canada. Through his relentless work and his contagious passion for music and youth, JMC experienced very rapid development throughout the country, becoming Canada’s largest classical performance network.

A very charismatic and persuasive figure, Gilles Lefebvre combed the country, recruiting, and founding JMC Centres… He gathered various key players in our society to work towards JMC’s mission: to promote the presentation of classical music, especially to youth, and to support the career development of the finest young professional instrumentalists, singers, and composers, both at home and abroad.

Very active at an international level, he was involved in a wide variety of musical committees.

GILLES LEFEBVRE, O.C., C.Q.
(June 30, 1922 – May 27, 2001)

“I gave life to the Jeunesses Musicales movement in Canada and the world, first and foremost, to share my true love of a musical genre that needs an initial introduction in order to be fully appreciated, one that requires silence to be heard, one that speaks to the heart and the mind.”