Dr. Paolo Bellamia

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

Hi, me my most influential teacher must have been Dr. in orchestra conducting from the University of Montreal, Mr. Paolo Bellamia. There was also Madame Fromant Savoie.

Paolo taught me counterpoint (after I completely finished Fux’s manual on my own) harmony and orchestra conducting, I received a certificate in orch. cond. from U of M which was signed by Mr. Rivest as well who was conductor of the U of M student orch. and now he has his own real deal in Montreal I believe. Paolo studied in masterclasses at Tanglewood under Leonard Bernstein and he also was taught by Pierre Boulez who was ginourmous!!! Well, so was Bernstein obviously lol!!!! Olivier Messiaen who was fond of taking birdcall notation alone near a river, this sort of thing, taught Boulez, Boulez, a super mathematician had IRCAM in Paris and revolutionized music adding tech. echoes and stuff like this, he also worked with Frank Zappa, conducting his work. I played doublebass in Paolo’s student orch. at Delasale High. in Ottawa. 8 hr classes, he smoking cigarettes drinking whisky standing behind the piano, showing us the stuff, it was GOOD. We were a gang with a common goal, music, music, music! Mme. Savoie was my piano teacher, harmony as well, she helped me pass one year of specialized arts highschool music theory in two weeks.

She was a great pianist, composer too, I went to see a concert of her’s at a church in Aylmer that burned down since yikes my parents were married there, last time I drove by it was stone wall and ash. Anyways. Franz Liszt taught teachers of her teacher’s teachers (not sure how many involved linearly) at the keys which is cool because, I’ve mentionned it before, Beethoven taught Czerny and he taught Franzy, this I like lol! SO, Mme. Savoie had a son Mathieu and he was visited by Yo Yo Ma and jammed with him being a cellist, he unfortunately passed away of cancer and his mom founded La maison Mathieu-Froment-Savoie to help out.

Well, anyways, going to the Bar Crocodile near Cote des Neiges in Montreal was grand with Paolo and Jean and Duk Kyung too.

The music at the medical clinic I’m in is very calming, please excuse my lack…..of……. Rock n Rolling……zzzzzzz

😆

Cheers!

Oh, here is ionization by Edgar Varese with Boulez conducting!

Henri Miller quote on Varese: “The stratospheric colossus of sound”

Nico