Joséphine Pauline Boulay (22 May 1869 – 5 August 1925) was a French organist, composer and professor.

Career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, she became blind at age three. She began her studies with the Blind Sisters of St. Paul and then with the National Institution for the Blind. She was admitted to the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

in 1887 and studied with

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

and Jules Massenet. In 1888, she became the first woman to win a first prize in organ at the Conservatoire. Appointed a professor at the National Institution for the Blind, she took charge of the organ and composition classes there while continuing her musical apprenticeship at the Conservatoire. There, she went on to win a second prize for harmony in the class of

Charles Lenepveu Charles-Ferdinand Lenepveu (4 October 1840 – 16 August 1910), was a French composer and teacher. Destined for a career as a lawyer, he defied his family and followed a musical career. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, and won France's to ...

in 1890, a second prize for counterpoint and fugue in 1895 in the class of Jules Massenet, and finally a first prize in 1897 in the composition class of Gabriel Fauré. For thirty-seven years she taught piano, organ, composition and harmony for young blind students at the Institute. She was decorated with the

Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician *Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP *Lieutenant General Francis Palmes Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP ( ...

in 1899 for her work. She died in Paris at 56 years of age.

Works

Selected works include: * ''Petit Carillon'' * ''Andante'' * ''Fugue'' * ''Prelude'' * ''Six Motets à la Sainte Vierge et au Saint Sacrement'' for voice and organ or harmonium * ''Suite'' for violin and piano * ''Andante in E''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulay, Josephine 1869 births 1925 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century women composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French women musicians 20th-century women composers Blind musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French classical composers French classical organists French women classical composers French music educators Musicians from Paris Piano pedagogues Women music educators Women organists Blind academics French blind people