Kenneth Howard Peacock (7 April 1922 – 22 November 2000) was a Canadian

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. He was a leading authority in Canadian enthnomusicology, and his research and publications in that field had a profound impact on the folk music revival in Canada of the mid to late 20th century. He was an associate of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, a founding member of the Canadian Music Council, and a member of the

Canadian League of Composers The Canadian League of Composers (CLC) is an organization formed in 1951 of Canadian composers primarily interested in raising awareness and acceptance of Canadian music. Its activities are overseen and directed by an executive, and by a National C ...

. In 1982 he was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, and in 1998 was awarded the Marius Barbeau Medal by the

Folklore Studies Association of Canada Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material ...

Life and career

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Peacock earned as associate diploma from the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...

(TCM) in 1937 where he was a piano student of Alma Cockburn. From 1937 to 1946 he was active as a private tutor in piano and music theory in Toronto. In 1939-1940 he pursued further piano studies privately with Mona Bates. In 1941 he entered the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

where he studied music theory with

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an English and Canadian organist and composer, and an influential teacher. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for ...

and Leo Smith. After earning a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

in 1943, he continued with graduate studies in composition at the UT with

John Weinzweig John Jacob Weinzweig (March 11, 1913 – August 24, 2006) was a composer, teacher, and advocate of contemporary Canadian concert music. Born in Toronto, Weinzweig went to Harbord Collegiate Institute, then studied music at the University of Tor ...

from 1944 to 1946. Peacock returned to the TCM for further piano studies under

Reginald Godden Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language meaning "king". Etymology and history The name Reginald comes from Latin meaning "king" and "ruler" symbolizing authority and leadership. It comes from combining Latin “ rex” meaning ...

in 1948–1949. In early 1950 he moved to Montreal to study the piano with Michel Hirvy. He moved to Boston the following autumn to study composition with

Francis Judd Cooke Francis Judd Cooke (December 28, 1910 – May 18, 1995) was an American composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor. Life Cooke was born December 28, 1910, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a family of New England missi ...

at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

. From 1947 to 1954 he was active as teacher in Ottawa. He worked on the staff of the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

from 1951 to 1972 as an ethnomusicologist and research fellow. He wrote many articles for a variety of musical periodicals during his career, in addition to having work published through the Museum of Civilization. He was also active as a pianist in several Canadian cities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Kenneth 1922 births 2000 deaths Canadian male classical pianists Canadian male composers Canadian musicologists Members of the Order of Canada Canadian music educators New England Conservatory alumni The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni University of Toronto alumni Musicians from Toronto 20th-century Canadian classical pianists 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian musicologists 20th-century Canadian male musicians