Margaret Drynan

Margaret Isobel Drynan (born Margaret Brown ; born December 10, 1915 in Toronto , † February 18, 1999 in Oshawa ) was a Canadian organist and choir director, composer and music teacher.

Drynan's music teachers included Arthur Benjamin , Madeline Bone , Michael Head , E. Kelvin James , Campbell McInnes , Molly Sclater, and Healey Willan . She was a member of the church choir of St. Mary Magdalene Church for 37 years and sang for four years with the Tudor Singers and in Reginald Stewart's Toronto Bach Choir . From 1950 to 1953 she was the organist and choirmaster of the Holy Trinity Church . In 1953 she founded the Canterbury Singers of Oshawa , which she directed until 1968. In 1960 she became director of the Oshawa Symphony Association . In 1963 she was one of the founding members of the Oshawa District Council for the Arts , of which she was president from 1973 to 1975.

For many years she was the editor of the Canadian edition of Diapason magazine , and she herself also wrote articles for Music Magazine, among others . In 1978 she was among the founders of the Healey Willan's 100th Birthday Celebration Committee and wrote the booklet for the event. In 1990 she became director of the Healey Willan Scholarship Committee . From 1983 to 1990 she worked as an organist and choir director at St. Matthew's Anglican Church .

In addition to a Missa brevis (1954), Drynan composed four operettas, works for strings, and around 40 songs. Christmas carols such as Songs for Judith , Including Me and Why Do the Bells of Christmas Ring? In 1976 she received an honorary award from the Royal Canadian College of Organists and in 1984 the Young Women's Christian Association honored her as Woman of Distinction in the Arts .

source

• Margaret Drynan ( English, French ) In: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada . published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .