John Beckwith (composer)

John Beckwith
CM
Born(1927-03-09)March 9, 1927
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
DiedDecember 5, 2022(2022-12-05) (aged 95)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Composer, writer, pianist, teacher, and administrator

John Beckwith CM (March 9, 1927 – December 5, 2022) was a Canadian composer, writer, pianist, teacher, and administrator.[1][2]

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he studied piano with Alberto Guerrero at the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1945. Beckwith received a Bachelor of Music (Mus.B.) in 1947 and a Master of Music (Mus.M.) in 1961 from the University of Toronto.[3] In 1950-51, he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.[1] He began teaching at University of Toronto's Faculty of Music in 1952. From 1970-77, he was the dean of the faculty.[1] He was founding director of the Institute for Canadian Music at the University of Toronto. In 1987, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.[3] He retired from the university in 1990.

Beckwith wrote over 160 compositions covering stage, orchestral, chamber, solo and choral genres. He also wrote 17 books, the last of which - Music Annals: Research and Critical Writings by a Canadian Composer - was published shortly before his death in 2022.[3]

  1. ^ a b c Nygaard King, Betty; Anhalt, István; Winters, Kenneth; McIntosh, Andrew (2022-12-07). "John Beckwith". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  2. ^ Elliott, Robin (2022-12-16). "Vital and prolific composer John Beckwith was an authority on Canadian music". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  3. ^ a b c Hisama, Ellie. "John Beckwith (1927–2022)". music.utoronto.ca. University of Toronto Faculty of Music. Retrieved 6 December 2022.