John Beckwith
Latest Albums
- Kirk Elliott, Joseph Macerollo, Paul Helmer, Bruce Mather, Lawrence Beckwith, Sharlene Wallace, Vivienne Spiteri
- Eitan Cornfield, Delores Kay-Hee, Judy Loman, Harold Burke, Patricia Rideout, Mary Morrison, Ronald Laurie, Canadian Brass, Connie Gitlin, Robert Aitken, Therese Costes, Donald Bartle, Canada Festival Singers, Alexander Gray, John Beckwith, Stephen Ralls, Joseph Umbrico, Monica Whicher, Norman Tobias, Elmer Iseler, Donald Wherry
- Lyric Arts Trio, Days Months and Years to Come, Jerome Pernod, Canada Quartet, Mario Bernardi, Victor Feldbrill, Arthur Polson, Angela Hewitt, Hannaford Street Silver Band, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Canada Festival Singers, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Luca Pfaff, Festival Singers of Toronto, Tsung Yeh, Colin Tilney, Steven Staryk, Serge Garant, Quebec Contemporary Music Society, Orchestre National de France, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Elmer Iseler, Erica Goodman, Yuli Turovsky, Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra, Chia Chou, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, Barbara Pentland, Robert Aitken, Robert Rogers, Yves Prin, The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Marion Ross, Norma Beecroft, John Avison, Musici di Montreal, I, James Hunter, Hong Kong Sinfonietta
- Valerie Weeks, William Aide, Patrick Wedd, John Beckwith, Jane Coop, Oxford String Quartet, Helena Bowkun
Biography
John Beckwith studied at Toronto University and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and served as a teacher in Toronto. He was music critic and columnist for the Toronto Star. A prolific composer, his work included ballets, chamber operas, and choral pieces. Many of his later works were collage pieces that utilize text and theatre as well as music. This method of composition was evident in the series Canada Dash, Canada Dot, commissioned by the CBC. Beckwith insisted he was not a nationalist. However, he consistently wrote from his home in southern Ontario and stated that "I believe in the importance of environment, local colour, 'accent.' Music ... achieves universality at least partly through loving care and attention paid to these things." John Beckwith died December 5, 2022 while in treatment for pneumonia at a hospital in Toronto. He was 95 years of age. ~ Lynn Vought