Jean-Baptiste Augustin Lavallée (August 22, 1816 – February 15, 1903) was a music teacher,

violin maker A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be u ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. His surname also appears as Paquet or Paquet dit Lavallée. He was born near

Verchères Verchères () is an off-island suburbs, off-island suburb of Montreal, in Montérégie, Quebec, located on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 5,759. History file:Verchères (Québec)-Pan ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

, the son of Jean-Baptiste Paquet and Charlotte Lalu. In 1842, Lavallée married Caroline Valentine. He settled in Verchères towards the end of that year. Around 1848, he moved with his family to

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

, where he worked with

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

manufacturer Joseph Casavant. Lavallée also taught music and conducted the village band. In 1852, he opened an instrument repair shop. In 1865, he moved his business to

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 ...

. He operated in partnership with his son Charles from 1888 to 1894 as Lavallée & Fils; they are believed to have manufactured over 200 violins. Lavallée then retired and Charles took over the operation of the business. His son Calixa became a famous pianist and composer, who wrote the music for ''

O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...

''. He died in Montreal at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavallee, Augustin 1816 births 1903 deaths People from Verchères, Quebec Canadian musical instrument makers