Henri Delcellier

Henri-Aimé Delcellier was an unusually accomplished individual. He served as a colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and performed on violin, viola and clarinet with some of Ottawa’s leading players. He also co-filed a patent for a new way to weave fabric for military use and competed as part of the Canadian men’s fencing team at the Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Summer Games.

Early years

Delcellier was born in Béziers, France. His father, Henri J. Delcellier, was an orchestra and opera conductor who moved to Canada with his family in 1911 to direct the choirs of the Montréal Opera Company. Henri’s earliest musical instruction was on the piano. He later took up violin and viola in addition to clarinet.

He graduated from McGill University in 1924 with a degree in civil engineering. He joined the army in 1926 when he was transferred from the McGill University Contingent of the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps to the Royal Canadian Artillery.

At McGill, Delcellier was a member of the rifle club and became interested in fencing. He competed as part of the Canadian men’s fencing team at the Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Summer Games.

Early musical activities in Ottawa

Delcellier’s name appeared in the entertainment pages of Ottawa newspapers in the late 1930s as performing in radio programs for CBO Ottawa in orchestras he directed. He also played chamber music professionally for several years.

He played first violin in a string quartet that debuted in February 1938 at the Château Laurier for Ottawa’s Twilight Club, a forerunner of the Ottawa Music Club. The quartet performed for the club again in 1940. Its repertoire included music by Mendelssohn, Glazunov, Grieg and Beethoven.

The group renamed itself the Ottawa String Quartet for its concerts with choirs at Chalmers United Church in May 1941 and for a concert of seasonal music at St. James United Church in December.

By May 1943, the Ottawa String Quartet had reorganized, with violinists Eugene Kash (described as “a newcomer” in the Ottawa Citizen) and Dr. Leo Gershkovitch, Delcellier on viola, and Dr. Paul Larose on cello. The quartet began its new incarnation by playing noon-hour concerts at the National Research Council and the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.

The quartet opened the new concert series on Sunday afternoons at the National Gallery in April 1943. Its program included the Ottawa premiere of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1. The quartet continued to perform at the National Gallery to capacity audiences until at least December 1945, with its programming including works by Canadian composers John Weinzweig and Sir Ernest MacMillan.

After a hiatus, the ensemble re-formed for its debut in February 1953 as the Carleton College String Quartet, sponsored by Carleton College. Playing first violin was Eugene Kash, with Delcellier joining the group on clarinet for quintets. Lauretta Thistle, writing in the Ottawa Citizen in March 1953, noted that Delcellier’s performance of Mozart’s Quintet in A Major was of “a competence so high that he was able to take advantage of the rich serenity and humor in the score. His fellow players were equally relaxed.”

New process for military use

Concurrent with his musical activities, Delcellier had a career with National Defence, where he was Director of Inter-Service Development. He oversaw equipment and other material for soldiers working in every type of environment. In the mid-1950s, with Dr. Jan Weinberger, he developed a new weaving process that substantially increased textile strength and durability. The new process was viewed as a major development in the manufacture of textiles and was later licensed to manufacturers by the government.

As an orchestra musician

Delcellier played with the Ottawa Philharmonic Orchestra under Allard de Ridder from the orchestra’s beginning in 1944. He was soloist in Massenet’s Scènes alsaciennes in November 1944. He also played clarinet in the Orpheus Operatic Society’s production of The Yeomen of the Guard at the Ottawa Technical High School in November 1946.

With Eugene Kash’s appointment as conductor of the Ottawa Philharmonic in 1950, Delcellier continued as principal clarinetist. Delcellier performed in many of the orchestra’s fundraising and informal concerts.

In 1957, the Ottawa Philharmonic reorganized and established a full-time professional nucleus of more than 30 players. Delcellier was succeeded by Donald Wyman as principal clarinet and headed the viola section as principal. Delcellier also participated in other orchestral concerts, including as concertmaster of the Ottawa Pops Orchestra conducted by Edward Kirkwood. This group played two concerts at Lakeside Gardens in July 1958, sponsored by the Ottawa Citizen and Local 180.

Later career

In January 1956, Delcellier premiered a march for band that he found in his father’s papers as an unfinished composition. He completed the piece and premiered it with Edmonton’s RCAF band at a conference in Fort Churchill, Manitoba. Delcellier’s father had written the work to commemorate French flyer Louis Blériot, who successfully made the first flight across the English Channel in 1909.

Delcellier retired from National Defence in 1956. He later moved to Hudson, Quebec, where he directed the music for a production of The Mikado for the Hudson Music Club in May 1971.

Henri Delcellier died in Hudson at age 72. He was interred at Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa.

Kevin James