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News Release97-06 August 28, 1997 Collection of Beckwith Music Papers Launched at National Library of CanadaOTTAWA -- At noon today, Ottawa's Golden Dog Press launches a major collection of composer John Beckwith's Music Papers at the National Library of Canada. Publisher Michael Gnarowski describes Music Papers: Articles and Talks by a Canadian Composer, 1961-1994 as "a rich trove of observations on music in our time, the composer's life and reminiscences about some of Canada's most interesting musical personalities". "The great Glenn Gould, the conductor Sir Ernest MacMillan, and the poet and dramatist James Reaney are just some of the many well-known artists whose creative lives touched that of the author and are remembered in these pages," says Gnarowski. "The Golden Dog Press is honored to launch this collection by one of Canada's foremost composers." "Beckwith has played several important roles in the domain of concert music in Canada as an educator, administrator, composer and editor -- and these are only four of them," says the National Library's Music Division Director Dr. Timothy Maloney. "The National Library of Canada is delighted to participate in the launching of what will undoubtedly be a significant addition to Canadian literature on music." Dr. John Beckwith (1927- ), O.C., was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied piano in Toronto with Alberto Guerrero and composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. A member, and later Dean, of the Music Faculty of the University of Toronto, he is a member of the Order of Canada, holds three honorary doctorates, and in 1984, was named Composer of the Year and received the Toronto Arts Award for music, when he put together a program of music to mark the city's 150th anniversary. He also holds the Canadian Conference of the Arts Diplôme d'honneur and is a co-founder of the Canadian Musical Heritage Society. Dr. Beckwith will autograph copies of the Music Papers: Articles and Talks by a Canadian Composer, 1961-1994 at the August 28 launch in Room 156 at the National Library of Canada. -30- For further information, contact:
Iris Winston |