Albert Chamberland (12 October 1886 – 4 April 1975) was a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, conductor,

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. As a violinist he performed as a

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

ian with a number of ensembles, including the Beethoven Trio with whom he made some early recordings for

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

during the first decade of the 20th century. For HMV he made a few solo recordings and was a concert soloist as well. He performed with a variety of orchestras, serving as the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

's first

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

. Chamberland also created several compositions for band and orchestra.

Early life and education

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Chamberland began his musical training in his native city with Jean A. Duquette before entering the conservatory at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

where he was a pupil of

Alfred De Sève Alfred De Sève (May or June 1858 – 25 November 1927) was a Canadian violinist, composer, and music educator. His compositional output includes works for violin and piano, solo piano, and orchestra; many of which were published by Arthur P. Sc ...

. His sister Luce was a concert pianist and was married to bassist Ulysse Paquin.

Career

Chamberland began his career as a violin soloist in 1904 at the age of 18. He soon began playing in J.-J. Goulet's Montreal Symphony Orchestra (no relation to the current orchestra of that name). From 1907 to 1910 he was a member of the Beethoven Trio and from 1910 to 1920 he played in the Dubois String Quartet. In 1920 Chamberland helped found the Montreal Philharmonic Orchestra. That same year he was appointed the first violinist of the Chamberland String Quartet whose members also included Norman Herschorn (2nd violin),

Eugène Chartier Eugène Chartier (1893 – 1 November 1963) was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, and teacher. Born in Montreal, Chartier studied the violin with Alfred De Sève and Oscar Martel. He played second violin with the Dubois String Quartet fr ...

(viola), and Raoul Duquette (cello). He played with that quartet through 1925. In 1921 he conducted the Societé du Musique de chambre. In 1932 he became a member of the

Montreal Orchestra The Montreal Orchestra (MO) was a professional Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec that was active from 1930–1941. While not Montreal's first orchestra, the MO is considered by music historians to be the first professional sympho ...

. He joined the newly formed

in 1934, serving as the orchestra's

(1934–1939) and then assistant conductor (1939–1948). Chamberland worked as a music producer for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

from 1937 to 1952. Some of the programs he was responsible for producing were

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's ''

The Little Symphonies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' and ''Récital''. His compositional output was relatively small, consisting of an ''Allegro militaire'' for band, a ''Sérénade'' for violin and piano, an ''Étude de concert d'après Rode'', and a ''Fantaisie'' on the tune "

Un Canadien errant "Un Canadien errant" ("A Wandering Canadian") is a song written in 1842 by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie after the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–38. Some of the rebels were condemned to death, others forced into exile to the United States and as far as ...

". He performed the latter work at the Monument national on 13 April 1926. Chamberland taught music throughout his career, privately and on the music faculties of the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...

, the

Conservatoire national de musique Conservatoire national de musique was a music conservatory in Montreal, Quebec that was actively providing higher education in music during the first eight decades of the 20th century. Founded in 1905 by Alphonse Lavallée-Smith as the Conservatoir ...

, and the Villa Maria School. He was also active as music competition judge. Among his students are

Alexander Brott Alexander Brott, , born Joël Brod (March 14, 1915April 1, 2005),

Isabelle Delorme Isabelle Delorme (4 November 1900 – 20 February 1991) was a Canadian composer, pianist, and music educator. As a composer, her works are lyrical in nature and follow more traditional ideas of harmony as opposed to the avant-garde music that was ...

René Gagnier René Gagnier (30 May 1892 – 25 May 1951) was a Canadian conducting, conductor, composer, euphonium player, violinist, and music educator. His compositional output includes several march (music), marches, waltzes, works for solo violin, and ...

, Norman Herschorn,

Lucien Martin Lucien Martin (30 May 1908 – 29 October 1950) was a Canadian violinist, conductor, and composer. Only one of his compositions was published, the art song ''La Chanson des belles'', which was performed by Jeanne Desjardins in its premiere on t ...

, and Romain-Octave Pelletier II. He died in Montreal in 1975 at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberland, Albert 1886 births 1975 deaths Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal faculty Conservatoire national de musique faculty McGill University School of Music alumni Canadian music educators Canadian composers Canadian male composers Male conductors (music) Canadian record producers Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists Musicians from Montreal 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers