Antoine Dufour
Biography
Antoine Dufour is emerging as one of Canada's young stars of acoustic, fingerstyle guitar. With a recent CD of original material that was released to critical acclaim, along with appearances and awards at major festivals, Antoine is building a national reputation for innovation and creativity. He will be touring across Canada in 2006 as a member of the International Guitar Night, an all-star evening of the best original guitarists/composers in North America.
Dufour was born in the little town of l'Epiphane, near Montreal. He started playing guitar at the age of 15. He studied at the CEGEP of Joliette, where his teacher made him listen to Leo Kottke, Don Ross and Michael Hedges. His life and his vision of the guitar changed, and since then he has been completely devoted to fingerstyle steel string guitar. His musical style is a mix of the powerful rhythms of rock, the sensibility of classical music, a funky groove, and a pure folk melody.
Dufour won 1st place in the 2006 Canadian Guitar Festival competition, and has toured internationally in support of his first two CDs, Naissance and Development.
Antoine Dufour's third solo cd, Existence, is his best yet by far, with epic compositions that break ground on the instrument and move more towards a progressive rock sound than displayed on his first two CDs, Naissance and Development. Dufour's style continues to develop, bounded only by his imagination and his technical dexterity. As he says, "The acoustic guitar is an instrument which has a very rich sound, and offers infinite possibilities to the player."
Discography
- Existence 2008
- Andy McKee/Antoine Dufour 2007
- Development 2006
- Naissance 2005
Performance Highlights
Antoine Dufour placed 1st in the 2006 Canadian Guitar Festival Championship. Prior to that, Antoine played at the 2005 Montreal Jazz Festival and at the 2005 Canadian Guitar Festival, where he was awarded 2nd prize in the Fingerstyle Guitar Championship. He placed third at the 2006 International Finger Style Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. He has appeared in concert and given workshops throughout Quebec, produced a video in Fall 2003, and has released his 3rd CD in 2008 with Candyrat Records (opens in new window).
Antoine Dufour web site
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