Eugène Lapierre

Born in Montreal, Lapierre received his earliest musical education at Saint Brigid's Church in his native city where he was a pupil of choirmaster Lucien Perreault. He then studied the organ with Étienne Guillet and worked as an accompanist at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. He entered the École des Hautes Études Commerciales where he earned a degree in 1922.[1]

From 1924–1928 Lapierre studied in Paris through a grant from the Canadian government, first at the Institut Grégorien where he earned a diploma in 1926 and then at the Schola cantorum where he earned a diploma in 1928. Among his teachers in Paris were Georges Caussade (composition), Vincent d'Indy (composition), Marcel Dupré (organ and improvisation), Simone Plé-Caussade (piano), and P. Sylva Hérard (piano). He went on to earn a diploma in journalism and Doctor of Music (1930) from the Université de Montréal, after which he worked as a journalist for La Patrie. While writing for that newspaper he continued to study the organ with Benoît Poirier.[1]

During the 1920s and 1930s Lapierre served as organist for several churches in Montreal, including Saint-Philomène de Rosemont, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Jacques (1922-4 and 1928–36). From 1936–1944 he was organist at Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka and from 1944–70 he served in that position at Saint-Alphonse-d'Youville. In 1921 he was appointed secretary of the Conservatoire national de musique and was later appointed the school's director in 1927, a post he held up until his death in 1970. Among his notable pupils are Gaston Allaire, Émilien Allard, Françoise Aubut, Pierre Brabant, Albertine Caron-Legris, Alfred Mignault, Colombe Pelletier, and Édouard Woolley.[1]