Gérald Gagnier (14 October 1926 – 14 January 1961) was a Canadian

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff ...

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 def ...

, and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

er. His compositional output includes the

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

''Polyphème'', a ''Prélude'' for piano, a ''Suite romantique'' for strings, and ''Rolandineries'' for piano.

Life and career

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Gagnier was the son of musician René Gagnier and received his earliest musical training in the trumpet, piano, and music theory from him. His grandfather Joseph Gagnier had 26 children, many of whom also became professional musicians of note; including Armand Gagnier,

Ernest Gagnier Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian ...

, Guillaume Gagnier,

J.-J. Gagnier Jean-Josaphat Gagnier (2 December 1885 – 16 September 1949) was a Canadian conducting, conductor, composer, clarinetist, bassoonist, pianist, arts administrator, and music educator. His compositional output mainly consists of works for orchestr ...

, Lucien Gagnier, Réal Gagnier, and René Gagnier. Several of his cousins became notable musicians, including

Claire Gagnier Claire Gagnier (March 28, 1924 – December 25, 2022) was a Canadian soprano singer from Quebec. Life and career Gagnier was born in Montreal on March 28, 1924, and took voice lessons from . In 1944, she won first prize on the Canadian Broadcast ...

Ève Gagnier Ève Gagnier (November 12, 1930 – September 19, 1984) was an actress and singer in Quebec, Canada. The daughter of René Gagnier, a musician, conductor and composer, she was born in Montreal and was educated at the Conservatoire de musique d ...

, and Roland Gagnier. He attended the

Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières The Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières is a private school, private scholar institution in the Mauricie, Mauricie region of Regions of Quebec, Quebec. Located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, it is, within the unique Education in Quebec ...

from 1939 to 1945 where he received his general education. In 1945 Gagnier entered 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 ...

where he studied through 1951. During that time he also spent three summers studying under

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1 ...

. He also spent some time mentoring François Morel in conducting. In 1954 he earned a diploma from the

Royal Military School of Music The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. For more than a century and a half, from 1857 until August 2021, the school was based at Knell ...

after passing tests given by a traveling examiner. Gagnier began his career as a trumpeter in the

Canadian Grenadier Guards Band The Canadian Grenadier Guards Band (sometimes referred to as His Majesty's Canadian Grenadier Guards Band) was a Canadian military band that was active for more than 60 years during the 20th century. In addition to performing for military events, ...

which was conducted by his uncle J.-J. From 1946 to 1949 he taught at the Studio Labelle and then joined the staff of Mont-St-Louis College in 1951. He was appointed assistant director of the

Opéra national du Québec This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...

in 1951. He directed several bands for the Canadian Army with whom he held the rank of lieutenant, including

Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Lineage File:FMR Colours.jpg, The regimental colour of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. File:FMR Camp Flag.jpg, The camp flag of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. File:Fusilie ...

during the early 1950s and the

Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Band The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC; , ''CRCM'') was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps RCOC can trace its roots back to the Canadian Stores Department. Formed in 1871, the Canadian Stores Depar ...

from 1956 until his death in Montreal in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gagnier, Gerald 1926 births 1961 deaths Alumni of the Royal Military School of Music Canadian male composers Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian male trumpeters Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Musicians from Montreal Canadian Army officers 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian trumpeters 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian military musicians Canadian Grenadier Guards Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal officers