Joseph-Arthur Bernier (19 March 1877 – 28 April 1944) 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 ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. Born in

Lévis, Quebec Lévis () is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec and the Pierre-Laporte, connect western Lévis with ...

, he was the senior member of a prominent family of musicians from

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. He is the father of pianist Gabrielle Bernier, cellist Maurice Bernier, and composer and keyboardist

Conrad Bernier Conrad Bernier (9 May 1904 – 7 November 1988) was a French-Canadian organist, composer, conductor and teacher. For many years he was a professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Born into a fa ...

, and the grandfather of musicians

Françoys Bernier Françoys Joseph Arthur Maurice Bernier (12 July 19273 February 1993) was a Canadian pianist, conductor, radio producer, arts administrator, and music educator. He served as the music director of the Montreal Festivals from 1956 to 1960 and was a ...

, Madeleine Bernier, and Pierre Bernier. His compositional output includes 4 masses, several

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s, pieces for solo organ, a ''Berceuse'' for violin, a ''Pastorale'' for oboe, a ''Cantilène'' for cello, and a ''Mazurka'' for piano. Bernier was a pupil of

Gustave Gagnon Gustave Adolphe Mathurin Gagnon (6 November 1842 – 19 November 1930) was a Canadian organist, composer, and music educator. Family background and education Born in Louiseville, Gagnon was from a prominent family of musicians in Québe ...

and Philéas Roy in Quebec City, and

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

and Félix Fourdrain in Paris. He served as organist at several churches in Quebec City, including St-Sauveur Church (1892–1908), Notre-Dame-de-Jacques-Cartier Church (1908–17), and St-Jean-Baptiste Church (1917–1944). He also gave recitals throughout the United States and Canada during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was president of the Académie de musique du Québec in 1910-11 and 1912–13, and taught on the music faculty at

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

from 1922-1944. His notable students include Clotilde Coulombe, Rolland-G. Gingras,

Omer Létourneau Joseph Hercule Omer Létourneau (13 March 1891National Library of Canada. Nouvelles de la Bibliothèque Nationale'. Vol. 15-16. National Library of Canada; 1983. – 14 August 1983) was a Quebec, Québécois pianist, organist, composer and orches ...

, and

Georges-Émile Tanguay Georges-Émile Tanguay (5 June 1893 – 24 November 1964) was a Canadian composer, organist, pianist, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his compositional output is relatively small; consisting of 4 orchestral wor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernier, Joseph Arthur 1877 births 1944 deaths Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian organists Male organists Canadian classical pianists Canadian music educators People from Lévis, Quebec Université Laval faculty Canadian male pianists