Malcolm Forsyth
South African-Canadian musician (1936–2011)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malcolm Forsyth, CM (December 8, 1936 – July 5, 2011) was a South African-Canadian composer, teacher, and trombonist.
Malcolm Forsyth | |
|---|---|
Forsyth in 2005 | |
| Born | December 8, 1936 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
| Died | July 5, 2011 (aged 74) Edmonton, Alberta |
| Occupations | Composer, teacher, trombonist |
Biography
Born in Pietermaritzburg, Forsyth attended Maritzburg College, South Africa. He studied trombone, conducting, and composition at the University of Cape Town where he received a Bachelor of Music in 1963. He played trombone with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra while studying for a Master of Music degree in 1966 and a doctorate in 1969.[1]
In 1968, he emigrated to Canada to join the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra where he played bass trombone, then principal trombone, for 11 years. He was a music professor at the University of Alberta for 34 years, including as composer-In-residence from 1996 until his retirement in 2002.[2] His students included composers Allan Gilliland, Allan Gordon Bell, Jeff McCune, and Allan Bevan.[3]
In 1970, Forsyth wrote Sketches from Natal for the CBC.[4] Some of his other works include Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1979), Sagittarius (1975), Quinquefid (1976), African Ode (Symphony no. 3) (1981), and Atayoskewin (Suite for Orchestra) (1984), which received the Juno Award for classical composition in 1987. He also received Junos in 1995 and 1998.
In 1988, the Canadian Music Council named him Composer of the Year and, in 2003, he received the Order of Canada and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.[4]
The Forsyth portrait in the Canadian Composers Portraits series was released in 2002.[5]
Forsyth died in Edmonton on July 5, 2011.[6]
His daughter is the cellist, Amanda Forsyth.
Further reading
- Curtis, Robert (2015). Elements of Place in the Choral Works of Malcolm Forsyth (Mus.D. diss.). University of Alberta.
- Ingraham, Mary I.; Rival, Robert C., eds. (2019). Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth. University of Alberta Press.
- Kennedy, Michael (1994). "Forsyth, Malcolm". The Oxford Dictionary of Music (Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 312.
- Maunula, Kiirsi (2016). Canadian Works for Horn by Michael Conway Baker, Malcolm Forsyth and Elizabeth Raum (D.Mus. diss.). Florida State University.
- McMillan, Barclay; Strangeland, Robert; Allison, Doreen R.; Nygaard King, Betty (2011-07-05). "Malcolm Forsyth". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
- Primos, Kathy (1994). "A Life Experience: The Orchestral Works of Malcolm Forsyth". SoundNotes (SN6): 12–21.
- Rival, Robert C. (2019). "Malcolm Forsyth's Double Concerto: Forging a New Simplicity". Intersections: Canadian Journal of Music. 39 (2): 145–79. doi:10.7202/1091840ar.