Dirk Keetbaas
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Dirk Keetbaas Jr. (June 20, 1921 – July 27, 1995) was a Dutch-born
flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, composer, and record producer in Canada. He became known as a member of the
Symphony Six The Symphony Six were a group of Canadian musicians under contract to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) who were denied entry to the United States for a concert tour in November 1951. Coming at the height of the McCarthy era in the US, the si ...
, a group of six musicians under contract to the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...
who were denied entry to the United States for a concert tour under suspicion of leftist activities.


Early life

Dirk Keetbaas Jr. was born in
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, to Dirk Keetbaas Sr. (1895-1988), who later became a violist and conductor in
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, Canada.


Career

From 1940 to 1945 Keetbaas played with the Central Band of the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
in Ottawa. From 1946 to 1953, he performed in various chamber groups 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 ...
, as well as played with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the
CBC Symphony Orchestra The CBC Symphony Orchestra (; CBCSO/OSSRC) was a radio orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. History The CBCSO was founded in 1952, and gave its first bro ...
. In November 1951 the Toronto Symphony Orchestra was invited to participate in the "Major Symphony Series" in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, its first appearance in the United States, alongside major US orchestras from Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. In keeping with US immigration laws, the orchestra submitted its list of members for clearance. Seven musicians were not given clearance; this was later pared down to six: Keetbaas, William Kuinka, Abe Mannheim, John Moskalyk,
Ruth Budd Ruth June Budd (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2021) was a Canadian bassist. She became Canada's first professional female bassist when she joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1947. She was also known as a member of the Symphony Six, a group of ...
, and Steven Staryk (later known as the
Symphony Six The Symphony Six were a group of Canadian musicians under contract to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) who were denied entry to the United States for a concert tour in November 1951. Coming at the height of the McCarthy era in the US, the si ...
), who were denied access to the United States under suspicion of leftist activities. The performers had associated openly with communist or communist front organizations in the vein of artistic collaboration, but denied the charges of political involvement. At the end of the season the orchestra did not renew its contracts with these musicians. This created a controversy in Canada. Keetbaas went on to become the principal flautist for the
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...
and the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra from 1953 to 1968. From 1956 to 1966 he directed and performed with the Dirk Keetbaas Players, a
wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the i ...
featuring
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
,
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
,
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
,
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
, and
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
. Keetbaas composed a ''Quintet for Winds'' in 1961 and the orchestral overture ''Woodhaven'' in 1965. Keetbaas was the flautist in ''Five Improvisations'' and composer-flautist in ''Three Miniatures for Solo Flute'', ''Music and Musicians of Canada III'' and ''E.gré plays E.gré''. In 1968, Keetbaas began producing records for the new CBC Records label and also taught music. He moved to
Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...
in 1985 and continued teaching composition to private students.


Personal

Around 1935, he married Mary Persoage (1919–2011) in Toronto. They had one son. He died in Calgary on July 27, 1995, at age of 74. He had donated his music collection to the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...
.


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keetbaas, Dirk 1921 births 1995 deaths Canadian classical flautists Dutch emigrants to Canada 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century flautists Toronto Symphony Orchestra members Musicians from South Holland