John Beckwith
John Beckwith , CM (born March 9, 1927 in Victoria , British Columbia ) is a Canadian composer , pianist and music journalist .
Life
His ancestors settled in Nova Scotia in 1760 . Beckwith's parents supported him musically. He sang in the church choir and studied piano with Ogreta McNeill when he was six . From 1945 he studied piano with Alberto Guerrero at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto with the help of a scholarship . There he was a member of the artist circle around James Reaney . As a laureate of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, he studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1950 to 1951 . In addition, Wadada Leo Smith and John Weinzweig were among his teachers in Canada .
Beckwith worked as a reviewer for The Globe and Mail and as a music critic for the Toronto Star . He was also a program spokesperson for the Canadian Broadcastin Corporation . He wrote for the radio Music in Our Time , The World of Music and The Music of Chopin as well as documentaries on Hindemith, Boulez, Bartók and Berlioz. He was also the editor of the Canadian Music Journal.
From 1952 he taught at the University of Toronto . From 1970 to 1977 he was Dean of the Faculty of Music. His students include William Aide, Robert Aitken , Brian Cherney , Gustav Ciamaga , Omar Daniel, Beverley Diamond, Ben McPeek, John Fodi, Edward Laufer, Bruce Mather , Clifford Ford , Clark Ross, Timothy Sullivan, James Rolfe, and Chan Wing-wah . In 1984 he founded the Institute for Canadian Music. In 1992 he was visiting professor in Australia and in 1997 at the University of Alberta . In 1996 he worked as a guest composer at the Musicarama in Hong Kong.
From 1973 to 1974 he was chairman of the Council of Ontario Universities and u. a. Board member of Ten Centuries Concerts, the Canadian Music Center, the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, the Music Promotion Foundation, the New Music Concerts, PRO Canada and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation. He was Secretary of the Canadian League of Composers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Beckwith co-founded the Canadian Musical Heritage Society in 1981 and co-designed Music at Sharon. In 1984 he put together a music program for the 150th anniversary of the city of Toronto. The Elmer Iseler Singers, Rosemarie Landry, Mark DuBois, James Campbell, Nelson Lohnes and Lawrence Cherney performed.
As a composer he has received commissions from well-known institutions (including the National Ballet of Canada, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra).
Works
He wrote more than 130 compositions.
Awards
Beckwith is a recipient of the Canadian Music Council Medal (1972). In 1987 he received the Order of Canada . He has also received honorary doctorates from McGill University , Mount Allison University, Queen's University , the University of Victoria and the University of Guelph . The Canadian Conference of the Arts presented him with an honorary degree in 1996. In 1999 he became an honorary member of the Canadian University Music Society.
Web links
- Works by John Beckwith in the catalog of the German National Library
- John Beckwith ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- John Beckwith at the University of Toronto (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beckwith, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian composer, pianist and music journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 9, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Victoria , British Columbia |