JEAN-FRANÇOIS HAMEL – president of the judges' panel
A highly versatile musician, Jean-François Hamel earned his master's degree at the Conservatoire de Musique de Quebec in 1996, where he studied classical guitar with Paul-André Gagnon and advanced harmony under Armando Santiago, graduating with the school's top prize. For the last 15 years, he has performed in more than 1,500 shows, which ranged from classical to pop and jazz to blues, accompanying renowned Quebec artists from the four corners of the province on tour in no less than 10 Asian countries. A dedicated teacher and arranger, he has taught a large number of guitarists and judged several competitions, most notably the Concours de musique Clermont-Pépin in 2005 and 2007. Since 2006, he is the chairman of the Montreal Guitar Grand Prix jury.
ISABELLE HÉROUX (CLASSICAL)
Active on the international scene, Montreal classical guitarist Isabelle Héroux regularly performs as a soloist, in duo and with an orchestra in Europe, the U.S. and Africa. Her recordings, ¡Viva Espana! (ATMA), Regard (XXI-21), Georges Delerue, musique pour guitare et pour flûte (DCM), have garnered critical acclaim. Héroux teaches at Sherbrooke University. She has authored several articles for guitar journals, a transcription and a method book, and she has a Phd in classical guitar teaching with a cognitive approach.
JEAN MILLAIRE (BLUES / ROCK)
Ace guitarist and composer Jean Millaire has written an important page in the history of music in Quebec. Already gracing stages in the late1960s, he played in the United States alongside some of the biggest names in blues, including John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Willy Dixon, Buddy Guy, James Cotton and B.B. King. A member of the legendary Québec rock groups Expédition, Offenbach and Corbeau in the 1960s and 1970s, he continued on to collaborate with Marjo on the two smash-hit albums Celle qui va and Tant qu'il y aura des enfants.
JASON LANG (ACOUSTIC)
Son of Canadian folk music legend Penny Lang and the late renowned American folk singer Dave Van Ronk, Jason Lang has succeeded in developing his own style, rooted in folk and pop traditions. Before releasing his debut album Beautiful Disguise, he toured extensively throughout Canada, Europe and the U.S. with many of Canada's best known artists, including Amanda Marshall, The McGarrigle Sisters, Roch Voisine, Isabelle Boulay, Richard Seguin, Luce Dufault and France D'amour, to name a few. As a respected composer, he has had several Top 10 and Top 20 Canadian country hits with Loggerhead recording artist Denise Murray. He won three Felix Awards at the ADISQ Gala.
TIM BRADY (JAZZ)
Known for his brilliant orchestrations, his dramatic structures and his innovative guitar work, Canadian Tim Brady is a composer and guitarist who has worked in a broad spectrum of genres, going from chamber and orchestral music to jazz and improvisation, touching on electro acoustic, opera and original scores for contemporary dance along the way. Since 1988, he has released 16 albums as both a composer and a performer, including his latest, My 20th Century, a multi-media work. He recently created two major orchestral pieces: The Choreography of Time: Symphony #2 (for saxophone quartet and orchestra), commissioned for the 2005 Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival, and Opposites Attract (bass clarinet concerto), commissioned by the CBC Radio Orchestra.