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Edwin Bélanger (18 November 1910 – 14 January 2005) was a Canadian conductor, violinist, violist, arranger, and music educator. He had an association with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec for more than 50 years, including serving as the orchestra's principal conductor from 1942 to 1951. [1]
Born in Montmagny, Quebec, Bélanger was the father of musicians Marc Bélanger and Guy Bélanger. He received his general education and violin instruction at the Brothers of the Sacred Heart College in his native city. He then pursued further studies at the Séminaire de Québec where he was a pupil of J.-Alexandre Gilbert (violin) and Omer Létourneau (harmony). He notably married one of the daughters of the latter teacher. After winning the Prix d'Europe for violin in 1933, he pursued further studies with Carl Flesch in Paris (1933–1934, violin) and Ernest Read in London (1934–1935, conducting).
Bélanger began his performance career in 1928 at the age of 17, as a violinist in the Société symphonique de Québec (Orchestre Symphonique de Québec), remaining with the ensemble through 1931. After completing his studies in Europe he began working as a violinist, violist, conductor, and arranger at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Quebec City in 1935. In 1936 he founded the Cercle philharmonique de Québec, serving as its conductor until 1942 when the orchestra merged into the Quebec Symphony Orchestra. For the QSO he served as artistic director from 1942 to 1951 and was later a frequent guest conductor. He was first chair of the QSO's second violins from 1966 to 1975 and the orchestra's principal violist from 1975 to 1977. From 1977 to 1984 he played in the second violin section of the orchestra.
In 1937 Bélanger succeeded Charles O'Neill as the director of the band of the Royal 22nd Regiment in 1937. He was awarded the rank of captain in the Canadian Army at the time of his appointment. He remained in that role until 1961 when he became the proprietor of Procure générale de musique, a music retail and publishing firm. With the band he notably gave concert tours in Asia, Europe and the United States in addition to performing throughout Canada. He later served as the music director of Les Concerts Couperin from 1977 to 1982.
Throughout his career Bélanger was active as a teacher of the violin and viola, both privately and at a number of institutions. He served several terms as president of the Académie de musique du Québec (1947–1950, 1953–1956, 1963–1965, and 1971–1974). From 1973 to 1985 he taught viola and orchestral classes at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec. In 1984 the University of Quebec awarded him an honorary doctorate. He died in Quebec City in 2005 at the age of 94.
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts.
The Orchestre symphonique de Québec is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Quebec City. The orchestra also performs with the Théâtre lyrique du Québec, the Opéra de Québec, and the Choeur symphonique de Québec.
Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier, was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving as the orchestra's first artistic director and conductor from 1935 to 1941. He had a long and fruitful partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City that began with his appointment as a rehearsal accompanist in 1917; ultimately working there as one of the company's conductors in mainly the French opera repertoire from 1929 to 1950. From 1951 to 1966, he was the principal conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. He was also a featured conductor for a number of RCA Victor recordings, including an acclaimed reading of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem featuring baritone Mack Harrell and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and chorus.
Eugène Chartier was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, and teacher.
Jules Auguste Garcin [Salomon] was a French violinist, conductor and composer of the 19th century.
The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec (CMQQ) is a music conservatory located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Founded by the Quebec government in 1944, it became the second North American music institution of higher learning to be entirely state-subsidized. The conservatoire is part of a network of 7 conservatories in Quebec, the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec (CMADQ), and was the second school in the CMADQ network to be established. Orchestra conductor Wilfrid Pelletier served as the school's first director from 1944 through 1946. The current director is Jean-Fabien Schneider.
Donald Heins was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, organist, composer, and music educator of English birth. He notably founded the first professional orchestra in Ottawa, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, in 1902, serving as its director until 1927. He also served in a variety of positions with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1927 to 1949, including concertmaster, principal violist, and assistant conductor.
Jean Deslauriers was a Canadian conductor, violinist, and composer. As a conductor he had a long and fruitful partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; conducting orchestras for feature films and television and radio programs for more than 40 years. He also worked as a guest conductor with orchestras and opera companies throughout Canada and served on the conducting staff of the Opéra du Québec. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes him as "a conductor with a sober but efficient technique, who was always faithful to the written score [and] equally at ease conducting concerts, opera, and lighter repertoire." His best-known compositions are his Prélude for strings and the song, La Musique des yeux. He is the father of soprano Yolande Deslauriers-Husaruk.
Guy Bélanger is a Canadian tenor, opera director, composer, and conductor. In 2004 he was awarded the Medal of the National Assembly of Quebec.
Françoys Joseph Arthur Maurice Bernier was a Canadian pianist, conductor, radio producer, arts administrator, and music educator. He served as the music director of the Montreal Festivals from 1956 to 1960 and was an active conductor and a producer for CBC Radio during the 1950s and early 1960s. He was the General Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec from 1960 to 1966 and then the orchestra's Music Director from 1966 to 1968. He was also active as a teacher of conducting at a number of universities, notably serving as the first director of the Music Department at the University of Ottawa.
Jean Robert Talbot was a Canadian conductor, violinist, violist, composer, and music educator. For more than 25 years, he was the conductor of the Société symphonique de Québec. A member of the Société française de musicologie, the International Musicological Society, the Musical Association of London, and the Diocesan Commission for Sacred Music, he was the author of several books on music theory. He also contributed music articles to a variety of periodicals.
Alexandre Da Costa is a Canadian concert violinist and conductor from Montreal, Quebec.
Simon Nicolas Streatfeild was a British-Canadian violist, conductor and teacher.
Marc Bélanger is a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, arranger, composer, and music educator.
Jean François Toussaint Rogister was a Belgian virtuoso violist, teacher and composer.
Lise Berthaud is a French violist.
Régis Pasquier is a French violinist from a family of musicians. His father Pierre Pasquier (1902–1986), a violist and his uncles Jean (1903), a violinist, and Étienne (1905–1997), a cellist, had founded a string trio, le Trio Pasquier. His brother Bruno Pasquier is a violist.
Philippe Bender is a French flautist and conductor.
Pierre Bleuse is a French violinist and conductor.
Calvin Robert Sieb was an American-born Canadian classical violinist who was the concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1959/1960–79) and the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse (1979–89), and also played as a soloist. He was known as a "prominent" teacher of violin, teaching at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec (1951–56), the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (1955–79) and the University of Ottawa (1989–2001). He played the Laub–Petschnikoff Stradivarius. He was a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France (1990).