Her mother, Raissa Myshetskaya (Mischetzky) (1858–1935), was a Russian princess who married her Paris Conservatoire teacher, Ernest Boulanger (1815–1900), who won the Prix de Rome in 1835.

Her teachers included Marcel Tournier and Alphonse Hasselmans for harp, Mme Hélène Chaumont for piano and Fernand Luquin for violin.

After waiting patiently, she studied harmony with Georges Caussade and composition with Paul Vidal at the Paris Conservatoire.

Although she was studying under such talented composers and musicians at the conservatoire, she had one main supporter and devoted friend—her sister and best friend, Nadia.

Nadia Boulanger had given up entering the Prix de Rome after four unsuccessful attempts and focused her attention on her role as assistant in Henri Dallier's organ class at the Conservatoire, where Lili studied harmony, counterpoint and composition with Paul Vidal and Georges Caussade, under the Conservatoire's director Gabriel Fauré—the last of whom was impressed by her talents and frequently brought songs for her to read.

Aspects of Fauré and Claude Debussy can be heard in her compositions, and Arthur Honegger was influenced by her innovative work.

According to Caroline Potter, “The two sisters were both influenced by Debussy, and it appears they had similar literary tastes to the elder composer.

Allegedly, Lili had almost completed the opera before her death, though only the short score of act 1, scene 2, two versions of the libretto, and a sketchbook have survived.

[7][a] Although she loved to travel and completed several works in Italy after winning the Prix de Rome, her failing health forced her to return home, where she and her sister organised efforts to support French soldiers during World War I.

[10] While much of Boulanger’s music reflects the feelings of isolation and alienation that were starting to emerge during the twentieth century, it also reveals her own struggles with depression and loneliness caused by her long-term illness.

Auguste Mangeot, a critic from the Paris music journal Le Monde Musicale, reported that everyone liked the piece so well it had to be repeated.

Boulanger used this piece as a preparation for the Prix de Rome competition, and from it one can see her firm grounding in the classical technique taught at the Conservatoire.

She uses this technique as a starting point and employs many devices popular at that time to create a personal and clear statement.

[14] She composed Psalm 24, entitled La terre appartient à l'Eternel ("The earth is the Lord's"), in 1916 while she was resident in Rome.

[19] The work, completed when Boulanger was aged only twenty-two, sounds mature and conveys a developed compositional style.

The Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund does not accept applications for its annual competition but a list of candidates is produced by a group of nominators selected each year by the Board of Trustees.

[30] Previous winners have included Alexei Haieff (1942), Noël Lee (1953), Wojciech Kilar (1960), Robert D. Levin (1966, 1971) and Andy Akiho (2015).