Joseph Eugène Raymond-Marie Daveluy (; 23 December 1926 – 1 September 2016) was a Canadian

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 ...

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 ...

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 origina ...

, and

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 ...

. An associate composer of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, his compositional output consisted mainly of works for solo organ. He had an active international career as a recitalist and concert performer from 1946 through the 1990s. He held a number of church posts in Montreal, including serving as organist of St-Jean-Baptiste Church (1946–1951), Immaculée-Conception Church (1951–1954), and St-Sixte Church (1954–1959). In 1980, he was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He was married to

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Hilda Metcalfe."Raymond Daveluy"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''.

Career

Born in

Victoriaville Victoriaville () is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of ...

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, ...

, Daveluy was the son of organist and bandmaster Lucien Daveluy, with whom he began his initial musical studies at the age of 11. His sister

Marie Daveluy Marie Daveluy (; born 1936) is a Canadian opera singer and music educator from Quebec. Early life and education Marie Marguerite Cécile Alice Louise Daveluy was born to Lucien Daveluy and Renée Dunn in Victoriaville, Quebec. She is the siste ...

had a successful career as a classical

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. From 1939–1946 he studied music theory privately with Gabriel Cusson in Montreal and was also a pupil of organist Conrad Letendre from 1942–1948. He was awarded the

Prix d'Europe The Prix d'Europe () is a Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition ...

in 1948 which enabled him to pursue further studies in organ performance with

Hugh Giles Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

in New York City. Daveluy assumed charge of the large

Rudolf von Beckerath Rudolf von Beckerath (19 February 1907 – 22 November 1976) was a German master organ builder. He was born in Munich, to the painter Willy von Beckerath, but grew up in Hamburg, where his family moved the year he was born. He initially pu ...

organ at

Saint Joseph's Oratory Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal ( French: ''Oratoire Saint-Joseph-du-Mont-Royal'') is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located at 3800 Queen Mary Road in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood on Mount Royal's Westmount S ...

in Montreal from 1960 to 2002. He also served as the assistant director of 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 ...

(CMQM) from 1967–1970 and later was president of the school from 1974–1978. He also taught classes at the CMQM from 1957–1960 and from 1978–1988. He held the post of president of the

Académie de musique du Québec An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

from 1965–1971 and served as director of the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières (CMQT) is a music College or university school of music, conservatory located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. Most of the school's students come from the Saint-Maurice, Quebec, Saint ...

from 1970–1974. He also taught organ courses periodically at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

from the late 1960s through the 1980s. Among his notable pupils are Pierre-Yves Asselin, Paul Crawford, Mireille Lagacé, Lucienne L'Heureux-Arel, and

Rachel Laurin Rachel Laurin (, August 11, 1961 – August 13, 2023) was a Canadian organist, composer and music educator in Quebec. Biography Rachel Laurin was born in Saint-Benoît, Quebec, on August 11, 1961. Laurin studied organ with . She went on to study a ...

. He made a memorable visit to England at the invitation of

Martin Neary Martin Gerard James Neary LVO (born 28 March 1940) is an English organist and choral conductor. Neary was born in London in 1940 and was a chorister of the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace from age eight, singing at the christening of Char ...

to give an outstanding recital and performance on the organ of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

, including a lengthy extemporisation on a theme provided by

Anthony Caesar Anthony Douglass Caesar (3 April 1924 – 14 July 2018) was an English priest, organist and composer. Caesar was a boy chorister in the Winchester Cathedral Choir under Harold Rhodes, who directed choir rehearsals in the short street known as "D ...

. At its conclusion, the theme was revealed to be one of the Cathedral’s (rarely heard) mechanical bell tunes, played on the bells - a dramatic moment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daveluy, Raymond 1926 births 2016 deaths Canadian classical organists Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian music educators Canadian male classical organists Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières Academic staff of McGill University Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Quebec People from Victoriaville 20th-century Canadian composers 21st-century Canadian composers