Calixa Lavallée

A child musical prodigy on the piano and cornet, Lavallée toured the United States as a teenager and served as principal musician in the Union Army during the American Civil War, wounded at the Battle of Antietam. He later studied composition and conducting at the Paris Conservatoire.

Commissioned by Quebec Lieutenant Governor Théodore Robitaille in 1880, Lavallée set music to Adolphe-Basile Routhier's patriotic poem, creating 'O Canada', first performed on June 24, 1880. Despite his genius, lack of financial support in Canada forced him to spend his final years teaching in Boston.