Lydia Boucher

Boucher, Lydia

Lydia (Sister Marie-Thérèse) Boucher. Teacher, composer, b St-Ambroise-de-Kildare, near Montreal, 28 Feb 1890, d Montreal 5 Mar 1971; lauréat (AMQ) 1914, diplôme académique (AMQ) 1916, B MUS (Montreal) 1931. She joined the Soeurs de Ste-Anne in 1907 and took her vows in 1909. She studied with Auguste Descarries (piano and composition), Claude Champagne and Louis Michiels (composition), Rodolphe Mathieu (harmony), Raoul Paquet (organ), J. Alexandre Delcourt (violin), and Fleurette Contant (voice). For 60 years (1909-69) Sshe taught piano, voice, violin, and organ at various schools and institutions, notably the Maison-Mère Mont-Ste-Anne in Lachine and the École de musique Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montreal. Her compositions were written between 1923 (Ave Maria) and 1971 (Hommage à Mère Marie-Anne). They include an oratorio, L'Oeuvre d'Esther Blondin (1949), and several other works for choir, some of which were published by Édition Belgo-Canadienne, Musica Enrégistré, and Éditions canadiennes. She wrote works for piano, including Trois Préludes (1928-30) and La Ronde des aiguilles (Éditions canadiennes 1950), and also an Alleluia for organ (1958).