Wilfrid Pelletier

A child prodigy in Montreal, Pelletier studied piano and conducting in Paris under Gabriel Pierné. In 1917, he joined the Metropolitan Opera in New York, conducting French and Italian operatic repertoires and directing the famous Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air.

In 1934, Pelletier returned to his native city to found the Société des Concerts Symphoniques de Montréal (now the OSM), building it into an international symphony. He persuaded the Quebec government to establish the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in 1942, honored by having Montreal's premier concert hall, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts, named in his honor.