Romain Pelletier (sometimes spelled Peltier) (22 August 1875 – 24 November 1953) 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 ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

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 ...

, 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 consists entirely of works for solo organ and

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s. He was a founding member of the Société des artistes musiciens de Montréal and was a much admired teacher of

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

, and the organ.

Life and career

Born in Montreal, Pelletier was part of a prominent musical family in Quebec. He was the son of musician

Romain-Octave Pelletier I Romain-Octave Pelletier I (sometimes spelled Peltier) (9 September 1843 – 4 March 1927) was a Canadian organist, pianist, composer, writer on music, and music educator. Early life and career Born in Montreal, Pelletier was a member of a promi ...

, the brother of composer and conductor

Frédéric Pelletier Frédéric Pelletier (1 May 1870 – 30 May 1944) was a Canadian choir conductor, music educator, composer, music critic, journalist, civil servant, military officer, and physician. He was one of the principal music critics in Montreal d ...

, and the uncle of violinist Romain-Octave Pelletier II. His other brother Victor was a cellist in J.-J. Goulet's Montreal Symphony Orchestra of which he also served as music librarian. Pelletier studied the piano and organ in his native city with Arthur Letondal and was a singing and harmony student of

Achille Fortier Achille Fortier (23 October 1864 – 19 August 1939) was a Canadians, Canadian composer and music educator. His compositional output includes a modest amount of choir, choral and chamber music, chamber works, several songs and motets, and a small ...

. In 1909 he became organist/choirmaster at

Saint-Léon de Westmount Church Saint-Léon may refer to the following: Places ;France: * Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne * Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department of ...

, a position he held through 1951. He taught throughout his career, both privately and at the Institut Nazareth. Among his notable students are ,

Gabriel Cusson Gabriel Cusson (2 April 1903, Roxton Pond, Quebec - 18 Apr 1972, Montreal) was a Canadian composer and music educator. As a composer, his music was heavily influenced by the style of early 20th-century French composers. Most of his work remains u ...

, Guillaume Dupuis, Conrad Letendre, and

Georges-Émile Tanguay Georges-Émile Tanguay (5 June 1893 – 24 November 1964) was a Canadian composer, organist, pianist, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his compositional output is relatively small; consisting of 4 orchestral wor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelletier, Romain 1875 births 1953 deaths Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian organists Canadian male organists Canadian choral conductors Musicians from Montreal