Honours

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

MacMillan was one of the most influential Canadian musicians of his time, having devoted his life and energies to the service and advancement of music in our country. He is a pioneer to whom we owe much for the depth and richness of Canada's musical heritage. MacMillan's tremendous contribution was acknowledged through the numerous awards, honours and titles bestowed upon him throughout his career.

Interestingly enough, the first official recognition of MacMillan's work came from abroad rather than from his native country. In 1931, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in London, the first Canadian to receive this distinction, and named an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in 1938.

MacMillan was knighted in 1935 by King George V "for services to music in Canada." While in office, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett revived the practice, discontinued in 1919, of granting titles to Canadians. Knighthoods had been conferred in 1934 on Sir Frederick Grant Banting (co-discoverer of insulin) and other Canadians but the Prime Minister felt that the arts should be similarly recognized and thus recommended to the King the names of MacMillan, of painter Edmund Wyly Grier and of poet Charles G.D. Roberts. MacMillan, not yet 42, was the youngest of the three knighted, gaining honour for the music profession as a whole.

MacMillan was a recipient of the University of Alberta National Award in Music (1952); the Canada Council Medal (1964), established for outstanding achievements in the arts, humanities or social sciences; the Companion of the Order of Canada (1969), for outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree; and the Canadian Music Council Medal (1973, awarded posthumously), for outstanding service to music in Canada.

In addition, honorary degrees were conferred by the University of British Columbia (1936), Queen's University (1941), the Université Laval (1947), McMaster University (1948), the University of Toronto (1953), the University of Rochester (1956), Mount Allison University (1956), the University of Ottawa (1959), the Université of Sherbrooke (1962) and the Chicago Conservatory College (1971).

On both MacMillan's 70th and 75th birthdays, there were public tributes, special publications, and revivals of his works. In 1963, CAPAC grants to the University of Toronto helped fund the MacMillan (later CAPAC-MacMillan) Lectures. These were given annually until 1977 as part of the Royal Conservatory of Music's summer school. The inaugural lecturer was Glenn Gould. In 1964, MacMillan himself delivered the three public talks in this annual series, choosing as his topic "The Canadian Musical Public." Subsequent lecturers were Jean Vallerand, Zoltán Kodály, Welton Marquis, Peter Maxwell Davies, Ravi Shankar, Wilfrid Pelletier, Aaron Copland, Galt MacDermot, György Ligeti, Maureen Forrester, Luciano Berio, Arthur Schwartz and Iannis Xenakis. In the new home of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music (opened officially in 1964), the MacMillan Theatre was named after him.

In 1970, CAPAC established the Sir Ernest MacMillan Fellowship, awarded for compositions for 12 or more players. Initially, the fellowship ($2000) was available only to composers who were graduates of Canadian universities and intending to take up post-graduate studies in Canada. In 1976 the fellowship was increased and students at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Conservatoire de musique du Québec became eligible. Winners were permitted to continue their studies either in Canada or abroad.

In 1984, MacMillan's two sons, Keith and Ross, established the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation, providing annual awards of up to $10 000 for advanced education at the graduate level, in areas not funded by other granting agencies.

Notes

1. J. Hugh Faulkner, The Canadian Composer, No. 82 (July 1973), [p. 3].

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