Eugène Lapierre (8 June 1899 – 21 October 1970) 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 ...

, composer, journalist, writer on music,

arts administrator Arts administration (alternatively arts management) is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming within cultural organizations. Arts administrators are responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operations of the organization as we ...

, and music educator. He was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

in 1935 and the

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

in 1937. In 1963 he was named Chevalier of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

and in 1966 he received the Bene merenti de patria from the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

. He is the great-uncle of composer Yves Lapierre.

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 ...

, Lapierre received his earliest musical education at Saint Brigid's Church in his native city where he was a pupil of choirmaster Lucien Perreault. He then studied the organ with Étienne Guillet and worked as an accompanist at the

Royal Military College Saint-Jean The Royal Military College Saint-Jean (), commonly referred to as RMC Saint-Jean and CMR, is a Canadian Military academy, military college and university. It is located on the historical site of Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec), Fort Saint-Jean, in Sai ...

. He entered the

École des Hautes Études Commerciales HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

where he earned a degree in 1922. From 1924–1928 Lapierre studied in Paris through a grant from the Canadian government, first at the Institut Grégorien where he earned a diploma in 1926 and then at the

Schola cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History The Schol ...

where he earned a diploma in 1928. Among his teachers in Paris were Georges Caussade (composition),

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...

(composition),

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré (; 3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Early life and education Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré ...

(organ and improvisation), Simone Plé-Caussade (piano), and P. Sylva Hérard (piano). He went on to earn a diploma in journalism and

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

(1930) from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

, after which he worked as a journalist for '' La Patrie''. While writing for that newspaper he continued to study the organ with

Benoît Poirier Benoît Fidèle Poirier (17 October 1882 – 7 October 1965) was a Canadian organist,Brian Christopher Thompson. Anthems and Minstrel Shows: The Life and Times of Calixa Lavallée, 1842-1891'. MQUP; May 2015. . p. 19–. composer, and music ...

. During the 1920s and 1930s Lapierre served as organist for several churches in Montreal, including Saint-Philomène de Rosemont, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Jacques (1922-4 and 1928–36). From 1936–1944 he was organist at Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka and from 1944–70 he served in that position at Saint-Alphonse-d'Youville. In 1921 he was appointed secretary of the Conservatoire national de musique and was later appointed the school's director in 1927, a post he held up until his death in 1970. Among his notable pupils are Gaston Allaire,

Émilien Allard Émilien Allard (12 June 1915 – 18 November 1976) was a Canadian carillonneur and composer. He composed more than 50 works for carillon and made more than 700 transcriptions of carillon music; many of which are still performed in Europe and N ...

Françoise Aubut Françoise Aubut-Pratte, née Aubut (5 September 1922 – 8 October 1984) was a Canadian concert organist, and music teacher. Life Born in Saint-Jérôme (Quebec), a great-granddaughter of Calixa Lavallée, she began her piano studies at the a ...

Pierre Brabant Pierre Brabant (26 August 1925 – 28 August 2014) was a Canadian composer and pianist. He appeared in concerts and recitals throughout Canada and performed numerous times on Canadian television and radio. He wrote music for a number of programs ...

, Albertine Caron-Legris, Alfred Mignault, Colombe Pelletier, and Édouard Woolley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapierre, Eugene 1899 births 1970 deaths Canadian arts administrators Canadian male composers Canadian writers about music Canadian male organists Academic staff of the Conservatoire national de musique Canadian music educators Journalists from Montreal Musicians from Montreal Université de Montréal alumni Academic staff of the Royal Military College Saint-Jean Pupils of Vincent d'Indy Writers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian organists 20th-century Canadian male musicians