Marcelle Corneille

Marcelle Corneille (January 27, 1923 – January 3, 2019) was a Canadian administrator and educator in the field of music education. She taught at the Université de Montréal-affiliated École normale de musique from 1949 to 1976 and served as its director from 1957. Corneille founded the Université du Québec à Montréal's (UQAM) music module and was its director until 1978, as well as establishing the École Préparatoire de Musique de l'UQAM in 1976. She also taught at Sir George Williams University and its successor Concordia University and the Thomas More Institute, lectured at events and contributed to musical periodicals. A room in UQAM's Department of Music was named to recognize her legacy at the institution.

Early life and education Marcelle Corneille was born on June 27, 1923, in Montreal, Quebec. She was the daughter of a French mother called Rachel Maertens and a Belgian father named Armand Corneille.

Career In 1943, Corneille joined the order of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame. From 1971 to 1973, Corneille served as vice-president of Fédération des associations de musiciens éducateurs du Québec (FAMEQ) as one of its founding members, She was the inspiration of the formation of the UQAM Choir in 1978. She was made an honorary member of FAMEQ in 2006.

Personal life Cornielle died at Résidence Bon-Secours, Montreal, on January 3, 2019, at the age of 95. On the morning of January 10, she was given a funeral at Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Church.

Personality and legacy

Cornielle was passionate about children, was devoted and intelligent. According to Actualités UQAM, she "had a major impact on the training of professional musicians, but also on the teaching of music in Quebec." In early 2018, a music room in the UQAM's Department of Music was named "Salle Marcelle-Corneille" in recognition of her legacy at the institution.