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