Wilfrid Pelletier

Wilfrid Pelletier, born on June twentieth, nineteen ninety-six, was a prominent Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving as its first artistic director and conductor from nineteen thirty-five to nineteen forty-one. His illustrious career also included a long-standing partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where he began as a rehearsal accompanist in nineteen seventeen and later became one of the company's conductors, focusing primarily on the French opera repertoire from nineteen twenty-nine to nineteen fifty.

From nineteen fifty-one to nineteen sixty-six, Pelletier held the position of principal conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. His contributions to recorded music include notable RCA Victor recordings, such as an acclaimed interpretation of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, featuring baritone Mack Harrell and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and chorus. His influence extended beyond performance, as he was one of the most significant music educators in Canada during the twentieth century.

Pelletier's dedication to music education was instrumental in the founding of the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec (CMADQ) in nineteen forty-two, which oversees nine schools of higher education in music and theatre across Quebec. He served as the director of the CMADQ and its first school, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, from nineteen forty-three to nineteen sixty-one. Additionally, he was the first director of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec from nineteen forty-four to nineteen forty-six and played a key role in establishing the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec à Montréal in nineteen fifty-four.

As a pianist, Pelletier was active in the nineteen twenties and thirties, forming a duo with Arthur Loesser, the half-brother of Broadway composer Frank Loesser. Together, they recorded numerous pieces under the direction of Arthur Bodanzky. Pelletier also made several solo recordings and Ampico piano rolls in the early nineteen twenties, primarily performing piano reductions of operas by French composers such as Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod, and Jules Massenet. Although his output as a composer was limited, his work 'In the Dark, in the Dew,' published in nineteen twenty-three, gained recognition when soprano Maria Jeritza included it in her recitals. Throughout his life, Pelletier was married three times, notably to opera singers Queena Mario and Rose Bampton.