Composer, Conductor. A native of Verchères, Quebec, Lavallée was born into a musical family and in 1857, he left Canada to pursue his career in the United States. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a musician with the 4th Rhode Island Infantry and served until his discharge in 1862 due to wounds received at the Battle of Antietam. After spending the rest of the war years in Montreal, Quebec, he returned to the United States where he wrote the comedic opera "Loulou" in 1872. After studying in France for a few years, he returned to Quebec and in 1879, was commissioned to write a "Cantata" in honor of the Governor General of Canada, the Marquess de Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise. In 1880, he composed his most famous piece, "O Canada," which was later adopted as the national anthem of Canada in 1980. Eventually returning to the United States, Lavallée died from tubercular laryngitis in Boston, Massachusetts and was originally buried in Boston until 1933, when his body was brought to Montreal for reburial.
Composer, Conductor. A native of Verchères, Quebec, Lavallée was born into a musical family and in 1857, he left Canada to pursue his career in the United States. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a musician with the 4th Rhode Island Infantry and served until his discharge in 1862 due to wounds received at the Battle of Antietam. After spending the rest of the war years in Montreal, Quebec, he returned to the United States where he wrote the comedic opera "Loulou" in 1872. After studying in France for a few years, he returned to Quebec and in 1879, was commissioned to write a "Cantata" in honor of the Governor General of Canada, the Marquess de Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise. In 1880, he composed his most famous piece, "O Canada," which was later adopted as the national anthem of Canada in 1980. Eventually returning to the United States, Lavallée died from tubercular laryngitis in Boston, Massachusetts and was originally buried in Boston until 1933, when his body was brought to Montreal for reburial.
Bio by: G.Photographer
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