Jenny Lerouge LeSaunier

Lerouge LeSaunier, Jenny

Jenny (Marie Chantille Augustine) Lerouge LeSaunier. Pianist, teacher, b Brussels 25 Aug 1886, d Edmonton 11 Mar 1971; honorary LLD (Alberta) 1966. She took her studies at the Lille Cons, at the Paris Cons (with Isidor Philipp), and in Berlin. She moved with her parents to Ottawa after the death of her sister, Sidonie, a violinist. In Ottawa she played by invitation before Sir Wilfrid Laurier, then prime minister of Canada, and before Earl Grey, then governor general. In late 1907 she moved with her family to Red Deer, Alta. She married Charles LeSaunier in 1909 and began teaching in Red Deer.

Lerouge LeSaunier was persuaded by Ernest MacMillan to move to Edmonton, and she opened a studio there in 1922. She remained in Edmonton until her death, playing concerts and establishing herself as a prominent teacher. Her pupils included Donna Fraser, Eleanor Kerr, Fraser Macdonald, Geraldine Mason, and Doreen Stanton. On 30 Jun 1950 she was decorated by the French government with the Palmes Académiques and the title Officier d'Académie, and in 1967 she received a CFMTA Centennial Citation recognizing her as one of Canada's outstanding piano teachers.