Oscar O'Brien

Oscar O'Brien (7 September 1892 – 20 September 1958) was a Canadian folklorist, composer, pianist, organist, music educator, and Roman Catholic priest. A large portion of his compositions were based in folklore and he also arranged and harmonized roughly 400 French and Canadian folksongs; many of which were written for his collaborations with Charles Marchand and the Alouette Vocal Quartet. He worked as an arranger or accompanist on numerous 78 rpm recordings for such labels as Bluebird, Brunswick, Columbia, Starr, and Victor. He contributed numerous articles on folklore to publications like Le Canada français and was a frequent lecturer on folklore subjects. In 1978 CBC Radio recognized O'Brien in a series of six broadcasts featuring his harmonizations.

Life and career Born in Ottawa, O'Brien was a pupil of Amédée Tremblay with whom he began studying both the piano and the organ as a young teenager. At the age of 16 he was appointed Tremblay's deputy organist at the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa. He continued to study with Tremblay while taking courses as De La Salle Academy and the University of Ottawa. In 1917 he moved to Montreal where he lived and worked for the rest of his life as a teacher, orchestral pianist, and accompanist. Among his pupils were Joseph Beaulieu, Lionel Daunais, Hector Gratton, Jacques Labrecque, Allan McIver, Lucien Sicotte, and Albert Viau.

A devout Roman Catholic, O'Brien became interested in pursuing a religious life and entered the Benedictine monastery at Saint Benedict Abbey, Quebec as a novitiate in 1945. He took his vows in 1947 and was later ordained a priest in 1952 at which time he became known as Dom Oscar O'Brien.