Eugène Lapierre (8 June 1899 – 21 October 1970) was a Canadian

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, composer, journalist, writer on music,

arts administrator The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

, and music educator. He was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

in 1935 and the

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

in 1937. In 1963 he was named Chevalier of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

and in 1966 he received the

Bene merenti de patria Bene merenti de patria is a silver medal created in 1923. It is awarded by the Quebec patriotic Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society to a "compatriot having rendered exceptional services to the homeland". Laureates *1924: Marie Lacoste Gérin-Lajoie *1924 ...

from the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

. He is the great uncle of composer Yves Lapierre.

Life and career

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 ...

, Lapierre received his earliest musical education at Saint Brigid's Church in his native city where he was a pupil of choirmaster Lucien Perreault. He then studied the organ with Étienne Guillet and worked as an accompanist at the

Royal Military College Saint-Jean , mottoeng = Truth, Duty, Valour , established = 1952 , type = Military college , chancellor = Anita Anand (''ex officio'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Commanda ...

. He entered the

École des Hautes Études Commerciales HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International Fi ...

where he earned a degree in 1922. From 1924–1928 Lapierre studied in Paris through a grant from the Canadian government, first at the Institut Grégorien where he earned a diploma in 1926 and then at the

Schola cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

where he earned a diploma in 1928. Among his teachers in Paris were

Georges Caussade Georges Paul Alphonse Emilien Caussade (20 November 1873 – 5 August 1936) was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Biography Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teac ...

(composition),

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...

(composition),

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

(organ and improvisation), Simone Plé-Caussade (piano), and P. Sylva Hérard (piano). He went on to earn a diploma in journalism and

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or occasionally Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted b ...

(1930) from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

, after which he worked as a journalist for '' La Patrie''. While writing for that newspaper he continued to study the organ with

Benoît Poirier Benoît Fidèle Poirier (17 October 1882 – 7 October 1965) was a Canadian organist,Brian Christopher Thompson. Anthems and Minstrel Shows: The Life and Times of Calixa Lavallée, 1842-1891'. MQUP; May 2015. . p. 19–. composer, and mus ...

. During the 1920s and 1930s Lapierre served as organist for several churches in Montreal, including Saint-Philomène de Rosemont, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Jacques (1922-4 and 1928–36). From 1936–1944 he was organist at Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka and from 1944–70 he served in that position at Saint-Alphonse-d'Youville. In 1921 he was appointed secretary of 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 was later appointed the school's director in 1927, a post he held up until his death in 1970. Among his notable pupils are

Gaston Allaire Joseph Georges-Émile Gaston Allaire (18 June 1916 – 15 January 2011) was a Canadian musicologist, organist, pianist, composer, and music educator of American birth."Gaston Allaire, un musicologue qui pursuit son oeuvre à 72 ans", Montrea ...

Émilien Allard Émilien Allard (12 June 1915 – 18 November 1976) was a Canadian carillonneur and composer. He composed more than 50 works for carillon and made more than 700 transcriptions of carillon music; many of which are still performed in Europe and ...

, Françoise Aubut,

Pierre Brabant Pierre Brabant (26 August 1925 – 28 August 2014) was a Canadian composer and pianist. He appeared in concerts and recitals throughout Canada and performed numerous times on Canadian television and radio. He wrote music for a number of program ...

Albertine Caron-Legris Albertine Caron-Legris (1906–1972) was a Canadian pianist, composer and music educator. Many of her manuscripts and personal papers are held in the collection at the Library and Archives Canada. Early life Born Albertine Caron in Louiseville, Q ...

Alfred Mignault Alfred Joseph Édouard Mignault (8 December 1895 – 10 July 1961) was a Canadian organist, composer, and music educator. A largely self-taught composer, his compositional output includes both vocal and instrumental works such as songs, wor ...

, Colombe Pelletier, and Édouard Woolley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapierre, Eugene 1899 births 1970 deaths Canadian arts administrators Canadian male composers Canadian writers about music Canadian organists Male organists Conservatoire national de musique faculty Canadian music educators Journalists from Montreal Musicians from Montreal Université de Montréal alumni Royal Military College Saint-Jean faculty Pupils of Vincent d'Indy Writers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century organists 20th-century Canadian male musicians