Romain-Octave Pelletier I

Romain-Octave Pelletier I (sometimes spelled Peltier) (9 September 1843 – 4 March 1927) was a Canadian organist, pianist, composer, writer on music, and music educator. Early life and career Born in Montreal, Pelletier was a member of a prominent musical family. Three of his sons had successful musical careers: Frédéric Pelletier, Romain Pelletier, and Victor Pelletier. His grandson, Romain-Octave Pelletier II, was a well known violinist. His elder brother, Orphir Pelletier, was a composer and organist at St. Patrick’s Basilica, Montreal. Largely self-taught, it is from Orphir that he received his only early music lessons. He later studied for two years in Europe during the early 1870s after having worked for almost 15 years as a church organist. In 1857, at the age of 15, Pelletier succeeded Jean-Chrysostome Brauneis II as organist at Saint-Jacques Cathedral. He remained there for the next ten years, during which time he studied law and obtained certification as a notary. He notably officiated the marriage license of violinist Frantz Jehin-Prume, whom he accompanied numerous times in recital, and mezzo-soprano Rosita del Vecchio in 1866. In 1866–1867 Pelletier spent some months in