Gaston Marie Dethier (1875 – 1958) was an American organist, pianist, and

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 ...

of Belgian birth.

Early life

Born in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, he was the son of organist Emile Jean Joseph Dethier (1849-1933), the brother of violinist Edouard Dethier, and the uncle of physiologist

Vincent Dethier Vincent Gaston Dethier (February 20, 1915 – September 8, 1993) was an American physiologist and entomologist. Considered a leading expert in his field, he was a pioneer in the study of insect-plant interactions and wrote more than 170 academic ...

. He studied at the Royal Conservatory in his native city with Alexandre Guilmant. He was awarded ''premiers prix'' in organ, piano, harmony, and fugue from the conservatory. In 1886, at just 11 years of age, Dethier was appointed organist at the Église Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur de Liège. He eventually left there to work in the same capacity at the Église Saint-Christophe de Liège.

Relocation to United States

He emigrated to the United States in 1894 where he eventually became a naturalized citizen. He was organist at The Church of St. Francis Xavier from 1894 until 1907. After he left in 1907 the position was filled by Italian organist Pietro Yon who would eventually become organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Juilliard School

He taught organ on the faculty of the Juilliard School from 1907 until 1945. Among his notable pupils were

Ray Lev Ray Lev (May 8, 1912 – May 20, 1968) was an American classical pianist. One year after her birth in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, her father, a synagogue cantor, and mother, a concert singer, brought her to the United States. Life Lev’s early pia ...

Marcelle Martin Marcelle may refer to: *Marcelle, a French Female, feminine version of Marcel (given name), Marcel *1300 Marcelle (1934 CL), a main-belt asteroid *Groupe Marcelle, a Canadian cosmetics company See also

* Marcel (disambiguation) * Marcell (disa ...

Carl McKinley Carl K. McKinley (October 9, 1895 – July 24, 1966) was an American composer of classical music. Born in Yarmouth, Maine, he spent some time in Paris on a Guggenheim Fellowship. He studied music at Harvard University, and was granted a Naumberg ...

, Georges-Émile Tanguay, and Powell Weaver. Dethier is best remembered today as the composer of a set of Variations on 'Adeste Fideles' (1902) which is occasionally performed today.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dethier, Gaston 1875 births 1958 deaths American male composers American classical composers American classical organists American male organists Royal Conservatory of Liège alumni Juilliard School faculty Musicians from Liège Male classical organists