Jean Girard was a French organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

, serpent player, and schoolmaster who was primarily active in Canada. He was one of the first professional musicians living and working in the city of Montreal.

Born in Bourges

Bourges

Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...

, Girard initially intended to become a priest and entered the seminary of the Society of Saint-Sulpice

Society of Saint-Sulpice

The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...

 in his native city in 1720. He never became ordained and began his career as a singing master at the seminary at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris in 1724. The following July he sailed across the Atlantic to Canada where he remained for the rest of his life. From 1724 until his death in 1765 he served as the organist of the Notre-Dame Church

Notre-Dame Church (Montreal)

-History:In 1657, the Roman Catholic Sulpician Order arrived in Ville-Marie, now known as Montreal. The parish they founded was dedicated to Mary, and the parish church of Notre-Dame was built between 1672 and 1682...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. He also was active as a teacher.