Jean-Jacques Rapin has passed away
Jean-Jacques Rapin, former director of the Lausanne Conservatoire and a leading figure in the Vaudois music world, died on July 23. He was 82 years old.
Son of a baker in Montreux, Jean-Jacques Rapin began his professional life as a primary school teacher in Neyruz in 1952, then at the Collège de Béthusy in Lausanne. He went on to teach music at the Ecole Normale de Lausanne and directed several choirs. He is also a conductor, leading the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Orchestre symphonique de Bienne, among others.
In 1984, he was appointed Director of the Lausanne Conservatoire. He remained there until 1998. He was also responsible for the institution's move to its current premises on rue de la Grotte, and for the oft-quoted anecdote about the Steinway pianos: Rapin had secured the 10% of the overall budget for the purchase of 76 pianos, the largest order ever placed by the prestigious American firm.
Founder of the Ernset Ansermet Association and former Chairman of the OCL Foundation, Jean-Jacques Rapin also devoted a large part of his life to military activities. He was an artillery lieutenant-colonel.
The musical farewell took place on July 29 in a packed Lausanne Cathedral.
