Lydia Boucher was a Canadian composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, music educator, and nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

. She was active as a composer from 1923–1971, producing several choral works

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 and pieces for solo piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

. Most of her works are sacred and many of them were published by such companies as L'Édition Belgo-Canadienne, Musica Enrégistré, and Éditions canadiennes. Her first composition was Ave Maria (1923) and her last work was Hommage à Mère Marie-Anne (1971). Of particular note is her oratorio

Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

 L'Oeuvre d'Esther Blondin which premiered in 1949. Some of her other notable pieces include the piano works Trois Préludes (1928–30) and La Ronde des aiguilles (1950), and the Alleluia for organ (1958).

Life and career

Born in Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec

Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec

Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare is a parish municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Joliette Regional County Municipality.-History:...

, Boucher studied music with Claude Champagne

Claude Champagne

Claude Champagne was a Canadian composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, he studied violin with Albert Chamberland, organ with Orpha-F. Deveaux, and piano with Romain-Octave Pelletier I and Alexis Contant at the Conservatoire national de musique. In 1921 he went straight to Paris to study music...

 (music composition), Fleurette Contant (singing), J. Alexandre Delcourt (violin), Auguste Descarries (piano and composition), Rodolphe Mathieu

Rodolphe Mathieu

Joseph Rodolphe Mathieu was a Canadian composer, pianist, writer on music, and music educator. The Canadian Encyclopedia states, "Considered too avant-garde for his time because of Debussy's influence on his music, Mathieu gained recognition too late to inspire the generation that followed." The...

 (piano and harmony), Louis Michiels (composition), and Raoul Paquet (organ). She became a novitiate at the Soeurs de Ste-Anne in 1907. She took her vows in 1909 at which time she took the name Sister Marie-Thérèse.

Boucher was active as a teacher of piano, voice, violin, and organ from 1909-1969. She taught at several different schools and institutions during her 60 year teaching career, including the Maison-Mère Mont-Ste-Anne in Lachine and the École de musique Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montreal. She died in Montreal in 1971 at the age of 81.