Background
She was born in the village of Gaillac in France to a local merchant.
She was born in the village of Gaillac in France to a local merchant.
She began learning piano aged eight and studied at the Conservatoire de Toulouse.
Most well-known is her Sonata in C sharp minor for alto saxophone or viola, dedicated to Marcel Mule. She was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1918 studying organ and composition. Her studies in improvisation on organ led her to travel to America where she gave her first organ recitals in New New York
Her husband, Maurice Decruck, a clarinetist, saxophonist and double-bassist played both bass and saxophone with the New York Philharmonic.
Maurice Decruck later became a music publisher, opening the company Les Editions de Paris. She moved to the United States with her family in 1928.
In 1932, Maurice Decruck returned to Paris and began a publishing company ‘’Les Editions de Paris’’ that would go on to publish Fernande Decruck’s compositions. When Fernande returned to France, she began teaching harmony at the Conservatoire de Toulouse.
During this period she continued to teach, compose and perform.
Fernande and Maurice Decruck divorced in 1950 after several years of separation. She died of a stroke on 6 August 1954.