Renowned Montreal jazz musician Victor (Vic) Stefan Vogel will be awarded an honourary doctorate at the November 1, 2010 fall convocation ceremony, to be held at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts.
Vogel has been a pivotal force in establishing Montreal as one of the world's jazz capitals and he continues to be a musical ambassador for the city. He has also helped musicians in Cuba and other developing countries to obtain the music and instruments to play their best.
He began playing the piano by ear at the age of five after watching his older brother. He also taught himself to play trombone, tuba and vibraphone, and to arrange music. By 14, he soloed on CBC programs aired nationwide. After playing with several big-name bands, he led his first ensemble around 1960 at Montreal's Chez Paree.
He has been the music director for many CBC/Radio- Canada variety shows, and composed the scores for CBC and CTV news programs, National Film Board documentaries, as well as films.
He has shared the stage with Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Gerry Mulligan, Slide Hampton, Cannonball Adderley, Chucho Valdés, Mel Tormé and numerous other jazz legends.
While stardom lures away many luminaries, Vogel has remained staunchly loyal to the local music scene, performing at every Montreal International Jazz Festival since it began 31 years ago.
Vogel considers the award-winning score he arranged for the 1976 Montreal Olympics as one of his proudest achievements. He also arranged and conducted the European Jazz Youth Orchestra in tribute to Oscar Peterson's 80th birthday.
