Jean-Marie Beaudet (20 February 1908 – 19 March 1971) was a Canadian conductor, organist, pianist, radio producer, and music educator. He had a long career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, serving variously as a music producer, programing director, conductor, and administrator. With the CBC Symphony Orchestra he conducted the premiere recordings of works by many Canadian composers, including pieces by Maurice Blackburn, Claude Champagne, J.-J. Gagnier, Clermont Pépin, and Healey Willan. Early life and education Born in Thetford Mines, Beaudet was the brother of pianist Pierre Beaudet. He began his musical education at the Collège de Lévis where he was a piano and organ student of Father Alphonse Tardif. He pursued further studies in those instruments with Henri Gagnon and Robert Talbot at the Séminaire de Québec where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1928. In 1929 he won the prestigious Prix d'Europe for organ performance, a prize which provided him the funds necessary to continue his education in France from 1929-1932. He studied with Pierre Lucas at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau and with Louis Aubert (harmony), Marcel Dupré (organ), and Yves Nat (piano) at the Conservatoire de Paris. Early career in Quebec City In 1932 Beaudet returned to Canada to assume the post of organist at the Église Saint-Dominique in Quebec City and to join the music faculty at the Université Laval. He remained in both positions for the next five years, during which time he was also active as a concert pianist and conductor. Between 1935-1937 he made several appearances with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra(MSO) under conductor Wilfrid Pelletier, including performances of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto. He also was invited by Pelletier to conduct the MSO in concerts in 1936 and 1937. In 1937 he performed in concerts with the Cercle philharmonique de Québec. Work for the CBC In 1937 Beaudet joined the staff of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation where he held a variety of posts through 1947, including program director for the Quebec region, national music supervisor, and program director for the French network. He played an influential role in making music the primary focus of CBC programing, as opposed to news, drama, and talk radio. The CBC commissioned its first two operas, both by Healey Willan, as a result of his leadership: Transit through Fire: An Odyssey of 1942 (1942) and Deirdre (1945). Beaudet also conducted numerous