My Story

Éloïse Daoust, born in 2006, is a French Canadian composer, pianist and violinist. She first started playing the piano at the age of three. It did not take long before many noticed how easily music seemed to simply flow through her delicate fingers. A few years later, at the age of 9, she composed her first piece, which she named “Crayon compose”. Although quite simplistic, this first experience with composing paved the way to one day defining her true passion and gift. Éloïse has also been competing in the Kiwanis Music Festival since the age of 9, placing 1st and 2nd in many piano and composition categories, as well as winning many scholarships for both disciplines.
Then came the violin! As she started middle school at the age of 12, and was seeking a new challenge, she not only decided to undertake the violin within De La Salle’s CEAO specialized music program, but also take composition lessons with Gary Morton, a renowned Canadian composer in the Ottawa area. She composed her first piece for chamber orchestra, “Lawnsberry Expedition”, in 2019. During this time she also pursued her piano studies under the guidance and teachings of Heather Norian, winning many prizes and awards, including placing 1st at the Steinway Piano Competition.
In 2020, she composed a piece for her school’s junior string orchestra, for which she was already placed concertmaster, after playing the violin for only 2 years. This piece also allowed her to be granted the Anne Eggleston Trophy for the first time as part of the Ottawa Kiwanis Music Festival. She was honored to accept it again the following year for the first two movements of her piano quintet, “A Spark of Hope”. In 2021, Éloïse completed a short orchestral piece titled ‘’Le gâteau’’ based on a fictional story she created. This creative process of following a narrative has always been her way of finding inspiration. Recently, she has started composing for small ensembles, which has brought her to compete in the 2022 international Gonzaga Composition Competition, where she got honorable mention for “Fight or Flight’’ written for cello and piano.