His first contact with music was in 1958 at age seven, playing his mother's small accordion. His parents enrolled him in a local music school. He began piano at the age of 14. He was quickly hired as an accordionist and organ player in orchestras and was introduced to jazz.
He contributed to several albums by Plume Latraverse: "Triniterre" in 1971, "Plume Pou Digne" in 1974, and "Mix Grill" in 1998. He also contributed to Diane Dufresne's self-titled album in 1997.
At Vanier College in Montreal, he studied jazz for three years, from 1979 to 1982.
Passionate about technology, he founded the MIDI SCHOOL in 1986. He produces jingles and composes music for theatre, television, and radio. He was hired by TV5 Canada in 1988 to produce the station's on-air branding and various program themes. He served as TV5's in-house composer for the network's first four years on air.
In 1992, Mario Bruneau began exploring "musette" repertoire on the accordion.
He participated in the Montmagny World Accordion Festival from 1994 to 1997, and again in 2007 and 2025. From 1997 to 2004, he was the accordionist for the Bateau-Mouche in Montreal's Old Port, for which he also produced theme music. With singer Hélène Cardinal, they performed more than 1,000 times!
In 1997 he produced Hélène Cardinal's album "Les Orgues Barbares". Following the album's release, they were invited to the Francofolies de Montréal festival. He accompanies Hélène Cardinal on accordion and piano with original songs presented at La Licorne, the Studio Théâtre at Place des Arts, Montreal’s Spectrum, the Maisons de la Culture Plateau Mont-Royal, Côte-des-Neiges, and Marie-Uguay, as well as Théâtre Le Corona.
In 1999, he participated in the Rencontres Européennes de l’Accordéon in Chartres, France. In 2006, the Brandoni-Bompezzo accordion factory in Castelfidardo, Italy, hired him as a concert performer to demonstrate their accordions at the Frankfurt Musikmesse in Germany. In 2009, he presented a concert at the Festival International des Arts de Gluiras in Ardèche, France, with Hélène Cardinal. They were also invited to La Nuit Blanche in St-Pierre-et-Miquelon in 2012.
The Fêtes Gourmandes, the Magog-Orford Grape Harvest Festival, Montreal’s Fine Arts Museum, the Granada Theatre, the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, the Bombardier Museum, Stewart Hall in Pointe-Claire, and Espace Sutton have all benefited from his accordion’s festive atmosphere. He is frequently invited to play in major hotels such as the Sheraton centres in Montreal and Laval, the Hilton at the airport, the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the Spa Eastman, and the Château Bromont, in addition to numerous private performances.
