She was also awarded a gold medal for musical composition from that convent. On 24 August 1860 she and Adelina Patti were soloists in the world premiere of Charles Wugk Sabatier's Cantata in Montreal which was performed in honour of the visit of the Prince of Wales. This afforded her a better education than she might otherwise receive, and additional musical instruction. In 1856 after the death of her mother, she continued her education in a Montreal convent-school, run by the Dames du Sacré-Coeur where her father had obtained the position of Music Master. The family moved to Plattsburgh, New York, in 1852. He kept her on a strong practice regimen, with as much as four hours a day of lessons on the harp and piano. Her father was a proficient musician who was skilled with the violin, harp, piano and organ. She began her musical studies with her mother, and at age five her father took over her musical lessons. Her date of birth is usually given as 1 November 1847, but other authors have placed her birth in 1848 or 1850, The Biographical Dictionary of America puts her birth on September 18, 1851, Who's Who in America says November 1, 1851, and Albani's memoir says 1852. Albani was born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse in Chambly, Quebec, to the professional musician Joseph Lajeunesse and his wife, Mélina Mignault.
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