Wilfrid Pelletier

Opera and symphony conductor Wilfred Pelletier received his first lessons in piano, composition, and harmony from his father, a professional musician. So obvious were his talents that he was made an assistant conductor at the Montreal Opera when he was only 17. At 20, he won the Quebec Prix d'Europe and was sent off to Paris to undertake studies with Charles-Marie Widor, Isidor Philipp, and critic Camille Bellaigue. When he returned to North America in 1917, it was with a recommendation from Pierre Monteux that the Metropolitan Opera hire him as a coach. Pelletier was thus eng...