John Beckwith
Latest Albums
- Sharlene Wallace, Lawrence Beckwith, Vivienne Spiteri, Kirk Elliott, Joseph Macerollo, Paul Helmer, Bruce Mather
- Donald Bartle, Canada Festival Singers, Harold Burke, Patricia Rideout, Alexander Gray, Joseph Umbrico, Monica Whicher, Norman Tobias, Donald Wherry, Mary Morrison, Ronald Laurie, Canadian Brass, Robert Aitken, Judy Loman, Delores Kay-Hee, Elmer Iseler, Connie Gitlin, Therese Costes, Eitan Cornfield, John Beckwith, Stephen Ralls
- Jerome Pernod, Canada Quartet, Days Months and Years to Come, Angela Hewitt, Quebec Contemporary Music Society, Orchestre National de France, James Hunter, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Luca Pfaff, Festival Singers of Toronto, Marion Ross, Norma Beecroft, Serge Garant, Mario Bernardi, John Avison, Musici di Montreal, I, Lyric Arts Trio, Victor Feldbrill, Arthur Polson, Hannaford Street Silver Band, Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra, Chia Chou, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, Barbara Pentland, Robert Aitken, Tsung Yeh, Colin Tilney, Steven Staryk, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Canada Festival Singers, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Robert Rogers, Yves Prin, The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Elmer Iseler, Erica Goodman, Yuli Turovsky
- William Aide, Valerie Weeks, Jane Coop, John Beckwith, Patrick Wedd, Helena Bowkun, Oxford String Quartet
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