John Beckwith

The composer John Beckwith was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied piano in Toronto with Alberto Guerrero, and composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto in 1952, served as its Dean from 1970 to 1977, and Jean A. Chalmers Professor of Canadian Music from 1984 to 1990. He has been a committed creator and thoughtful observer of music in Canada, composing both music -- operas, orchestral pieces, songs, chamber and...See more

The composer John Beckwith was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied piano in Toronto with Alberto Guerrero, and composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto in 1952, served as its Dean from 1970 to 1977, and Jean A. Chalmers Professor of Canadian Music from 1984 to 1990. He has been a committed creator and thoughtful observer of music in Canada, composing both music -- operas, orchestral pieces, songs, chamber and choral music -- and words -- ranging from scholarly articles and editions to concert reviews in the daily press. Beckwith holds three honorary doctorates and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1987. He was the Canadian Music Council's "Composer of the Year" in 1984, and has received the Toronto Arts Award for music (1994) and the Diplome d'honneur of the Canadian Conference of the Arts (1996). See less