Alan Belkin (born July 5, 1951) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

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, ...

as well as a

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

Early life

Alan Belkin was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He began

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

studies with Philip Cohen, then he studied organ with Dom André Laberge and with

Bernard Lagacé Bernard Lagacé (21 November 1930 – 11 February 2025) was a Canadian organist and musicologist. His two series of recitals covering the works of Johann Sebastian Bach are considered to be landmark events in the history of music in Montreal. He ...

. He studied composition with Marvin Duchow and in 1983, he got his doctorate from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

under the tutelage of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

composers David Diamond and

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

Career

Since 1984, Belkin has taught

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

and composition at

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. He is acknowledged by

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 ...

as an associate composer. He is now retired, and teaches online. Alan Belkin maintains an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

web site A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, ...

which includes free texts on

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

, musical form and other musical subjects. Alan Belkin's works have been played in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Europe, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Belkin's YouTube channel has more than 33,000 subscribers and contains both his music and much pedagogical material.

Works

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

No. 1 *Symphony No. 2 *Symphony No. 3 *Symphony No. 4 *Symphony No. 5 *Symphony No. 6 ("Phantoms") *Symphony No. 7 *Symphony No. 8 *Violin Concerto *Violin Concerto #2 *Piano Concerto *Piano Concerto #2 *Cello Concerto *Double Concerto for violin and cello *''Sonata'' for piano solo *Sonata for viola and piano (2006) *''Petite Suite'', commissioned by the Duo Caron (versions for one piano and for two pianos) *''Fantasies and

Fugues In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

'' for piano solo *''Four Etudes'' for piano solo *''Voices'' for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, commissioned by Peter McCutcheon *''Adagio I'' ( Electroacoustic) *''Adagio II'' (Electroacoustic) *6 Songs for a Young Man *Four Emily Dickinson Songs *Do Not Go Gentle (choir, unaccompanied) *String Quartet No. 1 *String Quartet No. 2 *String Quartet No. 3 *String Quartet No. 4 *Adagio Symphonique pour Cordes *Elegy for String Orchestra *Symphonic Movement No. 2, for Strings *Trio, for violin, cello, and piano *12 Preludes and Fugues for piano *12 Preludes for piano *Nonet #2 (also exists in a version for piano and string quartet) *Symphonic Movement No. 3 *Flute Sonata *Clarinet Sonata (with piano) *Piano Sonata #2 *Clarinet Quartet *Ragtime, for orchestra *Music When Soft Voices Die, for choir *Concertino for Clarinet and Strings (Night Secrets) *Living with Daniel (melodrama for narrator and piano) *Cadenzas and Songs, for violin and piano

Discography

''Halogènes'' – excerpt of Night Labyrinth (1987): Adagio I (UMMUS UMM-101, 1990)

Honours

''Prix d'excellence en enseignement, catégorie professeur agrégé'' University of Montreal (1994)

Publications

* Musical Composition: Craft and Art, Yale University Press, 2018 *

Computer Music Journal ''Computer Music Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published on-line and in hard copy by MIT Press. The journal is accompani ...

* Journal of the Canadian University Music Society *

Musicworks ''Musicworks'' is a Canadian avant-garde music magazine, launched in January 1978 by Andrew Timar (editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibi ...

Notes

http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/belkin_a.html

References

Canadian Music Center
– Alan Belkin
Journal of the Canadian University Music Society

External links

Personal WebsiteVarious - Halogènes (CD) at DiscogsYouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belkin, Alan 1951 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian music educators Juilliard School alumni Living people Musicians from Montreal Academic staff of the Université de Montréal