René Gagnier was a Canadian conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

, 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...

, euphonium

Euphonium

The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...

 player, violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist, and music educator. His compositional output includes several marches

March (music)

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...

, waltz

Waltz

The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

es, works for solo violin, and some chamber

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 and symphonic

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 music; all of which remains unpublished.

Life and career

Born 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...

, Gagnier was the son of clarinetist Joseph Gagnier

Joseph Gagnier

Joseph Gagnier was a Canadian clarinetist and the father of an important Canadian family of musicians.-Life and career:...

 and received his earliest musical training from him. His later teachers included violinists Saul Brant, Albert Chamberland

Albert Chamberland

Albert Chamberland was a Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, music producer, and music educator. As a violinist he was highly active as a chamber musician with a number of notable ensembles, including the Beethoven Trio with whom he made some early recordings for His Master's Voice during the...

, and Alfred De Sève

Alfred De Sève

Alfred De Sève was a Canadian violinist, composer, and music educator. His compositional output includes works for violin and piano, solo piano, and orchestra; many of which were published by Arthur P. Schmidt and Charles H...

. He had 26 siblings, many of whom also became professional musicians of note; including Armand Gagnier, Ernest Gagnier, Guillaume Gagnier, J.-J. Gagnier

J.-J. Gagnier

Jean-Josaphat Gagnier was a Canadian conductor, composer, clarinetist, bassoonist, pianist, arts administrator, and music educator. His compositional output mainly consists of works for orchestra and band, although he did write some choral pieces, songs, works for solo piano and organ, some...

, Lucien Gagnier, and Réal Gagnier. A number of his nieces and nephews also became notable musicians, including Claire Gagnier, Ève Gagnier, Gérald Gagnier

Gérald Gagnier

Gérald Gagnier was a Canadian bandmaster, composer, and trumpeter. His compositional output includes the symphonic poem Polyphème, a Prélude for piano, a Suite romantique for strings, and Rolandineries for piano.-Life and career:Born in Montreal, Gagnier was the son of musician René Gagnier and...

, and Roland Gagnier.

From 1918-1929, Gagnier served as the assistant conductor of Loew's Theatre in Montreal. He was also active as a violinist in a number of orchestras during the 1910s through the 1930s, including the Montreal Orchestra, the Little Symphony of Montreal, the CSM Orchestra, and a number of theatre orchestras. In 1936-1937 he was the second violinist in the Dubois String Quartet

Dubois String Quartet

The Dubois String Quartet was a Canadian string quartet that actively performed for 28 consecutive seasons from 1910 to 1938. The ensemble was founded and led by cellist Jean-Baptiste Dubois who was the only member of the group to play in every season. The other original members were violinists...

. As a euphonium player he performed for over 25 years with the Canadian Grenadier Guards Band

Canadian Grenadier Guards Band

The Canadian Grenadier Guards Band was a Canadian military band that was active for more than 60 years during the 20th century. In addition to performing for military events, the band had an active concert schedule which brought them to performance venues throughout North America...

 which was directed by his older brother J.-J.

In 1939 Gagnier moved to Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...

 to assume the post of music director of the Union musicale de Trois-Rivières, a position he held for the next 11 years. During that time he also taught at the Académie de Trois-Rivières. He had previously taught at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and the Séminaire de Nicolet. He died in Trois-Rivières in 1951 at the age of 58.