Educator

Sir Ernest MacMillan:
Portrait of a Canadian Musician (1893 - 1973)

In his office at the Conservatory, 1926.
Photo by Milton Adamson, Toronto.

Download the above picture (161K)

There can be no more satisfying hobby . . . because it is one that . . . can never [be] outgrow[n]. Nor is there any more valuable study for the all-round development of the mind. 1

As an educator, Macmillan contributed to the foundations of the development of music in Canada throughout his professional life. He strove to enrich the lives of young Canadians through his musical activities. His convictions were strong when it came to the issue of music education. According to MacMillan, if young Canadians were not given the opportunity to be exposed to music, the country's musical future would suffer greatly, for music would eventually lack in audiences, performers and creators. The efforts of both the composer and performer are futile unless there exists a receptive audience. To the regret of many, MacMillan himself did little actual teaching. He was primarily an administrator and a developer of systems and policies.

In July 1919, MacMillan was appointed to the teaching staff of the Canadian Academy of Music where he taught theory, harmony and counterpoint as well as piano and organ. The following year, MacMillan was called upon to make examination tours on the Academy's behalf, first to Montreal at the McGill Conservatorium of Music and then to several towns in Southern Ontario. Later, these examination tours extended to some of the cities and towns of the Prairies and the West Coast.

His first invitation to adjudicate came from the Ottawa Music Festival in 1924. MacMillan's preoccupation with young people of all ages is reflected in the time and patience he devoted as a festival adjudicator and as an examiner for the Toronto (now Royal) Conservatory of Music. As an adjudicator, he was also recognized internationally. In 1937, he became the first Canadian to adjudicate at the National Eisteddfod of Wales and in 1940 at a festival in Jamaica. Later, he also received invitations to the United States. His efforts in this domain have long been overshadowed by his many successes in the more public areas of his professional activity.

In June 1924, the Academy was purchased by and amalgamated with the Toronto Conservatory of Music. MacMillan retained his teaching position and supplemented his income by taking on additional duties elsewhere. At Upper Canada College he was responsible for forming an orchestra and playing at its Sunday evening services. MacMillan was also director of music for the Hart House Theatre. He wrote the incidental music for several plays and conducted the performances.

Due to the ill-health of Dr. Augustus Vogt, the principal of the Conservatory, MacMillan was assigned administrative work assisting the vice-principal, Healey Willan. Following Vogt's death in 1926, MacMillan was appointed principal. In 1927 he became dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. The early years of his term were characterized by a diversity of artistic activities and developments. Feeling that vocal students needed experience in choral singing, MacMillan established the Conservatory Choir in 1927. It began by introducing Toronto to Mozart's Requiem and thereafter continued to present new and old works. The choir performed in the earlier years with the Conservatory Orchestra and later with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, giving it a high profile. The first opera classes at the Conservatory were initiated by MacMillan in 1926. As a further outlet to its singers, the Conservatory Opera Company was formed. It staged eight productions from 1928 to 1930, beginning with Hansel and Gretel, The Sorcerer, Dido and Aeneas and Hugh the Drover. This was a pioneer effort in opera in Toronto but the Company was forced to cease its activities in 1930 due to the Depression and was not revived until 1946. The Conservatory String Quartet was formed in 1929, comprising four of the institution's leading teachers. This ensemble created much subsequent interest in chamber music.

Efforts were made to improve the library and new courses were introduced. A number of significant curriculum changes occurred in the 1930s, such as a major revision of the piano syllabus in 1934, improvements in sight-reading and ear tests, and more rigorous theory requirements for the Associate diploma. In 1935 the examination system based on grades I to X was introduced. In agreement with the Ontario Department of Education, credit could be earned for Conservatory grades in secondary schools and as entrance requirements for university admission.

At the request of the University of Toronto president and the Conservatory Board, together with the support of the Carnegie Foundation of the U.S., Ernest Hutcheson (then president of the Juilliard School) undertook a feasibility study concerning the expansion of music education in Canada. He found the Conservatory to be less of a school than a facility for private teachers: the Conservatory furnished studio space and administrative services for which the teachers returned a percentage of their fees. Hutcheson suggested that teachers who were not salaried were primarily interested in maintaining gifted students for their own classes and were less concerned with providing a well-rounded education in music. He advocated a smaller faculty, hired on salary, with a greater commitment to comprehensive programs for senior students of professional calibre. He also recommended a preparatory division and summer courses.

Although the Hutcheson report (1937) was not implemented at that time, its recommendations led to the establishment of a senior division within the Conservatory in 1946. In 1942, the burden of other duties prompted MacMillan's resignation as principal. The activities of the Senior School were integrated in the overall reorganization of 1952 when the University created two main divisions under the designation Royal Conservatory of Music: the School of Music and the Faculty of Music. This created an atmosphere of controversy and discord resulting in MacMillan's resignation as dean. MacMillan had sat for two years on the planning committee which, after its deliberations, recommended a full-time deanship, a position MacMillan could not accept due to his involvement in many other activities. In addition, he believed that the position should be filled by someone younger and with solid academic experience. When rumors circulated that Edward Johnson was to be proposed, MacMillan was opposed, pointing out that Johnson was of advanced age and without academic experience. Johnson himself indicated that he had no wish to become dean and was not qualified for the position. As no other proposals regarding the appointment had been contemplated, MacMillan suggested that the reorganization be postponed for a year until a suitable candidate had been found. The reorganization went ahead, without the appointment of a dean, an action MacMillan regarded as unwise. The resulting clash between him and the University of Toronto administration made headlines and his connection with the University was severed when the office of dean of the Faculty was discontinued.

In addition to his duties at the Conservatory and University, in 1927 MacMillan undertook the task of editing A Canadian Song Book (in Britain, A Book of Songs), published under the auspices of the National Council of Education. This anthology, designed to serve Canadian homes, clubs, schools and colleges, became widely used in Canadian schools in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1930s, MacMillan prepared teaching materials, often collaborating with the pianist and pedagogue Boris Berlin. These include The Modern Piano Student (1931) and On the Preparation of Ear Tests (1938) both published by Frederick Harris Co. of Oakville, Ontario.

MacMillan, always closely associated with young people, was immensely popular with them. Children's Concerts and Secondary School Concerts were important components of each Toronto Symphony Orchestra season. There was collaboration between the Orchestra, the Toronto Board of Education and the Ontario Department of Education. The Orchestra first presented Children's Concerts during the 1924-25 season and, following an interruption these resumed in 1929-30. On February 11, 1941, MacMillan led the Orchestra in its first Secondary School Concert, after numerous requests from teachers and students. The Directors of the Orchestra Association had felt for some time that there should be programmes for young people who appreciated symphonic music, to fill the gap between the Children's Concerts and the regular Series Concerts. A list of young Canadian guest soloists who performed with the Orchestra included Lois Marshall, Jon Vickers, Frances James and Glenn Gould.

In his memoirs MacMillan indicated that the Secondary School Concerts were the deciding factor in his refusal of the illustrious position of the Reid Chair of Music at the University of Edinburgh, succeeding the late Sir Donald Tovey. He wrote: "Playing to such an audience gave me (and I believe, most of the players) a thrill such as I had not previously experienced." 2 MacMillan also presented similar concerts for children and young people while guest conducting in Vancouver, Montreal, the United States and while touring Australia.

Ontario's first school broadcasts were presented in 1942-43, as an experimental series of ten 45-minute music appreciation programmes featuring various soloists accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with MacMillan conducting. This initiated the series "Music for Young Folk," designed originally for grades seven and eight and later for all levels primary, junior and senior. "Music for Young Folk" was presented in various formats until 1964. These broadcasts were not intended to take the place of classroom music teaching but rather to enrich the musical experience of the children. In 1945, the National Film Board of Canada filmed the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the first time. The two films produced were released for distribution for educational purposes. During his trip to Brazil in 1946, MacMillan showed these films while visiting a school in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1936, a teacher at Templeton Junior High School in Vancouver, Marjorie Agnew, a childhood friend of MacMillan's, founded the Sir Ernest MacMillan Fine Arts Clubs to foster fine arts activities among the students. Miss Agnew felt that her pupils were deprived if they had no direct experience with the arts. MacMillan approved the use of his name and maintained an active interest in the Clubs' progress as they ultimately spread from school to school in Vancouver, to other cities and towns in British Columbia, and outside the province. The Clubs promoted a particular interest in music but extended to literary, visual-art and dance activities reflecting their sponsor's interest and knowledge in other arts. The Clubs ceased to function in the mid-1970s due to Miss Agnew's failing health.

MacMillan was also closely associated with the Jeunesses musicales of Canada (JMC) movement (now Youth and Music Canada outside Quebec), of which he was national president from 1961 to 1963 and then lifetime honorary president. Founded in 1949, this non-profit organization was created to encourage the pursuit of music among Canada's young people and to help talented performers and composers develop their careers in Canada and abroad. It is also a member of the International Federation of Jeunesses musicales. The JMC is well-known for its summer music camp at Mount Orford, Quebec and the concert tours it arranges for young soloists. The long list of artists who have benefitted from this organization includes such outstanding Canadians as Maureen Forrester, Louis Quilico and Bernard Lagacé.

From 1959 to 1966, MacMillan conducted the CBC Talent Festival programmes. Forced to stop for health reasons, he continued to act as commentator and adjudicator for the Festival until 1968. This took him on regular travels throughout Canada and gave him a direct and personal medium by which to encourage younger musicians. He also appeared frequently in the mid-1960s as a commentator on CBC radio musical programmes and, from 1951 to 1955, hosted a weekly hour-long radio program entitled "Sir Ernest Plays Favourites" on CKEY-Toronto. The show won two awards in 1952, one from the Ohio Radio Awards and the other from the Canadian Radio Awards, sponsored by the Canadian Association for Adult Education.

MacMillan participated in many lesser-known activities. He was asked to submit a brief to the Royal Commission on Education in Ontario chaired by Justice J.A. Hope. Approached by the Citizens' Committee on Children (Ottawa), MacMillan contributed an introductory chapter to the music section of the book What's What for Children. Despite his demanding schedule, he made himself available as speaker or forum chairman at symposia of the International Federation of Music Students and of Student Composers. He also participated in important events of institutions dedicated to the encouragement of music, such as delivering convocation addresses.

Notes

1. MacMillan, "Music for Teenagers" (unpublished, n.d.), p. 1. Sir Ernest MacMillan fonds, Manuscript Section, Music Division, National Library of Canada.

2. MacMillan, [Memoirs], chapter "The Toronto Conservatory," p. 12.

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