Calixa Lavallée

Calixa Lavallée, (December 28, 1842 – January 21, 1891), born Calixte Paquet, was a French-Canadian-American musician who composed the music for the Canadian national anthem "O Canada".

He was born at Verchères, Quebec. He went to the U.S in 1857 and lived in Rhode Island where he enlisted in the Union army in the American Civil War and eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant.

During and after the war he moved between Canada and the United States and developed a career in music. He was also a director, conducting major orchestral and operatic productions in important concert halls like the Montreal Academy of Music in Montreal and the Grand Opera House in New York. He was commissioned to compose "O Canada" to be performed during the St. Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations in 1880. He died in Boston in 1891. His remains were reinterred to Montreal in 1933 and laid to rest in the Montréal Côte-des-Neiges Cemetery.

Musical works

*"Loulou" (Comic Opera)
*"The Bridal Rose Overture" (Operetta)
*"The King of Diamonds" (Operetta)
*"Le Papillon" (The Butterfly) for flute, clarinet and piano.
*"O Canada"

Honors

The following roads were named to honor Calixa Lavallée:
*Avenue Calixa-Lavallée, located in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada.
*Rue Calixa-Lavallée, a dead-end street entering into Lafontaine Park, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
*Calixa-Lavallée Privée (Calixa-Lavallée Pvt.) a small dead-end laneway on the [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=ottawa&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=45.422341,-75.684595&spn=0.002605,0.004592&z=18 University of Ottawa campus]
*There is also a small village to the northeast of Montréal called [http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1W1GPTB_en&q=calixa-lavallee%2C%20qc%2C%20ca&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl Calixa-Lavallée]

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=6217 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]