Jeannine Vanier

Jeannine Vanier studied at the Institut Nazareth and at the University of Montreal. Her teachers included Jean Papineau-Couture and Clermont Pépin (composition), Jean Vallerand (history and orchestration), and Conrad Letendre, Françoise Aubut, and Georges Lindsay (organ). She won second prize in the Casavant Society competition in 1949 and a CCO (RCCO) prize in 1952. She was the organist 1952-74 at St-Paul-de-la-Croix Church and taught theory and organ 1955-70 at the Institut Nazareth, and ear training and keyboard harmony 1967-83 at the University of Montreal. In 1959 she was awarded a Sarah Fischer Concerts Scholarship for her composition Cinq pièces enfantines/Five Pieces for Children for piano (Waterloo 1960; recorded 1972, with other contemporary Canadian works, by BMI Canada). In 1962 she won the CAMMAC competition with her Fantaisie for three recorders (Berandol 1963), performed in 1965 by Mario Duschenes's group for a Canada Baroque recording (BC-1856). Also in 1965 her Salve regina was recorded by the Montreal Bach Choir (RCI 206). She was organist in various Montreal parishes: St-Bernardin-de-Sienne (1978), St-Léon de Westmount (1979-81), St-Casimir (1983-5), and St-André-Apôtre (from 1989). A few manuscripts of her works are held at the BN du Q.