Jean‑Michel Blais

Jean-Michel Blais is a Montreal-based pianist, composer, and performer, signed to Arts & Crafts and

Mercury KX (Decca). His debut album, Il, was named one of Time magazine’s Top 10 Albums of 2016,

and his music has since amassed over 580 million streams worldwide. A member of the LGBTQ+

community and living with Tourette’s syndrome, he also draws on his experiences as a special needs

educator to create ecstatic yet intimate compositions, blending virtuosic piano with lush orchestral

and electronic textures, infused with improvisation.

His latest album, désert, an hour-long improvised collaboration with electronic harpist Lara Somogyi,

spent 25 weeks on the Classical USA Billboard charts and earned a Juno Award nomination for Instrumental Album of the Year, following aubades, which won a Libera Award (A2IM). He is currently preparing for touring his upcoming choir album, set for autumn 2026.

After the concert, enjoy a beverage and more music at the Postlude Performance in the Leslie & Anna Dan Galleria