Wilfrid Pelletier

Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier was a Canadian conductor, pianist, and educator born on June 20, 1896, in Montreal. He began studying music at age eight under Ida Héraly and later won the Prix d’Europe in 1915. After studying in Paris, he moved to New York City in 1917 and joined the Metropolitan Opera as a rehearsal pianist. He became an assistant conductor in 1922 and served as a regular conductor from 1929 to 1950. Pelletier recorded several abridged operas and Gabriel Fauré's “Requiem” for RCA Victor. In 1935, he returned to Canada to establish the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving as its first artistic director until 1941. He founded the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec in 1942 and later led the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec from 1951 to 1966. In 1966, the largest hall at the Place des Arts was named Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in his honor. Pelletier was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1967 and died on April 9, 1982.