Herbie Helbig
Canadian musician
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Herbie Helbig (c. 1933, Germany - June 21, 1983, Toronto) was a Canadian pianist, harpsichordist, arranger, and composer of German birth. He was trained as a musician in Germany, Canada, and England.[1][2] While his schooling was principally in classical music he had success as a jazz pianist.[2] He worked as a composer and arranger for film, television, radio, and the stage.[2][3]
Career
Born in Germany[3][4] in c. 1933,[5] Helbig initially trained as a classical musician in his native country;[2] learning to play standard works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart among other composers.[3] In 1953 he immigrated to Canada[6] where he studied music composition and piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music[3] with Samuel Dolin.[7] He pursued further studies in music at the University of Toronto[2] and in England at Durham University.[1]
In 1954 Helbig performed in concerts sponsored by The New Jazz Society in Toronto.[8] In Canada he performed in concerts with American jazz musicians J. J. Johnson, Kenny Dorham, Sonny Stitt, and Wardell Gray during the 1950s.[6] In England he performed in concerts with Jack Parnell and Tony Crombie.[6] He also performed in Canada as a member of Mart Kenney's orchestra.[9] In 1960 his Herman Helbig Trio performed at the Canadian Jazz Workshop Festival in Toronto,[10] and that same year performed and recorded as a member of Pat Riccio's band.[11]
Helbig was a resident pianist at the Windsor Arms Hotel beginning in the 1960s[2] until the end of his life.[5] His repertoire in the piano bar of Windsor Arms's Club 22 ranged from jazz standards to classical works by Mozart to his own original compositions.[12] He was a member of Peter Appleyard's quartet with whom he recorded the 1965 LP The Peter Appleyard Quartet.[2] He made a LP recording in 1969 titled A Classical gas in which he played both piano and harpsichord.[3][2][13] He was music director for the show That 5 AM Jazz at Toronto's Theatre in the Dell in 1967 which starred the actor and singer Stevie Wise.[14][15] In 1969 he was a featured pianist on the Canadian daytime television series Islands and Princesses;[16] a series in which he performed classical piano works by composers like Chopin.[3] The following year he returned to Theatre in the Dell to work as the musical director for the original production of the revised version Oh, Coward!; a revue of the music of Noël Coward which starred Tom Kneebone, Dinah Christie, and Roderick Cook.[17] It was the seventh professional musical production he had worked as musical director.[3] In 1974 he composed and directed the music for the premiere production of Munroe Scott's Wu-feng which was staged at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.[18]
Helbig had his own program on Canadian radio for five years.[2] He was also known for his work as a concert pianist and film and television score composer in Canada.[19][2] He composed the scores to the films The Crowd Inside (1971),[20] and Feelin' Great (1973).[21] He also wrote the scores for many television documentaries made by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation;[5] including First Person Singular: Pearson – The Memoirs of a Prime Minister (1973).[22] From 1971-1983 he was the pianist for the children's television show Polka Dot Door.[5] In 1979 he performed for the inaugural opening of the new Sotheby Parke Bernet auction house in Toronto.[23] He also worked as a composer of jingles for Canadian television and radio which he made with his own production company.[3][4][5]
Helbig died in Toronto from a blood clot on June 21, 1983 at the age of 50.[5][24]