French composer Antoine Mariotte began his career not as a composer, but as a sailor, garnering him the nickname, “the marine composer.” Born in Avignon in December 1875, Mariotte completed his secondary studies at what is now known as Saint Michel Education in Saint-Étienne, France. As a child, he demonstrated exceptional musical abilities, studying flute, oboe, piano, violin, and voice. After his secondary studies, he turned away from his musical childhood and started his naval career by attending naval school in 1891, graduating second in his class. Mariotte could not stay away from music for much longer, however. In his writings, Mariotte stated, “It seems I am not in my true vocation. I miss music, my piano. If I had a fortune, I would have gone to the Conservatoire,” referencing the Paris Conservatoire. The years went by, and he continued studying harmony and composition while he was stationed on the Forfait in the China Sea during the First Sino-Japanese War.
By the time he returned to France in 1896 and began truly exploring composition as a vocation, he was studying under Vincent d’Indy at the newly formed Schola Cantorum. Mariotte’s education at Schola Cantorum is notable as unlike other institutions in France at the time, the Schola Cantorum was founded with the idea that anyone of any age could attend, specifically those who had been out of school and perhaps older than their peers would be in a conservatory setting. Post-graduation life led Mariotte back to Saint-Étienne to teach piano and then to the Conservatoire de Lyon to teach piano, voice, and vocal ensembles as well as direct the Symphonie Lyonnaise from 1902-1914. He also went on to be the director of the Opéra-Comique from 1936-1939. …
