Rex Lelacheur

Lelacheur, Rex

Lelacheur, Rex (A. de Putron). Composer, baritone, choir conductor, b Guernsey, Channel Islands, 5 Jan 1910, d Ottawa 7 Jan 1984. He studied first in Guernsey with his father, F.M. LeLacheur. He moved to Canada in 1927 and studied music in Toronto with the English musician John Hughes Howell and with H.A. Fricker. He sang on radio in Toronto, performed occasionally with Ernest Dainty's trio, and was a finalist in the 1944 'Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air'. He moved to Ottawa, where he worked for a time in insurance, but in 1951 he resumed full-time musical activity, teaching, conducting choirs, and composing. The same year he recorded six songs with harp accompaniment for Dominion.

Although mainly a choral composer, LeLacheur also completed Sonata da chiesa (1957) for the carillonneur Robert Donnell. Songs and choral pieces, published by Canadian Music Sales, Leeds, Harris, Chappell, and Archambault, include 'Forever England' (1940, performed by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir) and 'Centennial Hymn' (1967). He wrote two recitations for Anna Russell. His choral works were performed by the Rex LeLacheur Singers (1956-84), a 50-voice mixed choir which recorded parts 3 and 4 of his cantata The Resurrection and the Ascension (Q63-1163).