René Gagnier (30 May 1892 – 25 May 1951) was a Canadian

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 ...

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 ...

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

player,

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist, 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 origina ...

. His compositional output includes several

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

es, works for solo violin, and some chamber and

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning ...

music, all of which remains unpublished.

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 ...

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, ...

, Gagnier was the son of clarinetist Joseph Gagnier and received his earliest musical training from him. His later teachers included violinists

Saul Brant Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh cen ...

Albert Chamberland Albert Chamberland (12 October 1886 – 4 April 1975) was a Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, music producer, and music educator. As a violinist he performed as a chamber musician with a number of ensembles, including the Beethoven Tr ...

, and

Alfred De Sève Alfred De Sève (May or June 1858 – 25 November 1927) was a Canadian violinist, composer, and music educator. His compositional output includes works for violin and piano, solo piano, and orchestra; many of which were published by Arthur P. Sc ...

. He had 26 siblings, many of whom also became professional musicians of note, including Armand Gagnier,

Ernest Gagnier Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian ...

, Guillaume Gagnier,

J.-J. Gagnier Jean-Josaphat Gagnier (2 December 1885 – 16 September 1949) was a Canadian conducting, conductor, composer, clarinetist, bassoonist, pianist, arts administrator, and music educator. His compositional output mainly consists of works for orchestr ...

, Lucien Gagnier, and Réal Gagnier. A number of his nieces and nephews also became notable musicians, including

Claire Gagnier Claire Gagnier (March 28, 1924 – December 25, 2022) was a Canadian soprano singer from Quebec. Life and career Gagnier was born in Montreal on March 28, 1924, and took voice lessons from . In 1944, she won first prize on the Canadian Broadcast ...

Ève Gagnier Ève Gagnier (November 12, 1930 – September 19, 1984) was an actress and singer in Quebec, Canada. The daughter of René Gagnier, a musician, conductor and composer, she was born in Montreal and was educated at the Conservatoire de musique d ...

, Gérald Gagnier, and Roland Gagnier. From 1918 to 1929, Gagnier served as the assistant conductor of Loew's Theatre in Montreal. He was also active as a violinist in a number of orchestras during the 1910s through the 1930s, including the Montreal Orchestra, the

Little Symphony of Montreal Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, the CSM Orchestra, and a number of theatre orchestras. In 1936-1937 he was the second violinist in the Dubois String Quartet. As a euphonium player he performed for over 25 years with the

Canadian Grenadier Guards Band The Canadian Grenadier Guards Band (sometimes referred to as His Majesty's Canadian Grenadier Guards Band) was a Canadian military band that was active for more than 60 years during the 20th century. In addition to performing for military events, ...

, which was directed by his older brother J.-J. In 1939, Gagnier moved to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

to assume the post of music director of the Union musicale de Trois-Rivières, a position he held for the next 11 years. During that time he also taught at the Académie de Trois-Rivières. He had previously taught at 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 ...

and the

Séminaire de Nicolet The Nicolet Seminary College (French: Séminaire de Nicolet) was a school in what is now Quebec. Founded in 1803 at the town of Nicolet, Quebec, Nicolet, Lower Canada, it was the third institution providing a classical education in the province ...

. He died in Trois-Rivières in 1951 at the age of 58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gagnier, Rene 1892 births 1951 deaths Canadian male composers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Canadian military musicians Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian male classical violinists Euphonium players Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal Canadian music educators Musicians from Montreal Musicians from Trois-Rivières 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian classical violinists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers