Edward Clement Bethel (11 February 1938 – 24 August 1987) was a Bahamian composer, pianist and choral director who became the first Director of Culture in the Bahamas.

Biography

Clement Betel was born in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

, to Edward Irvin Bethel and Lilias Ethel Bethel. He was trained as a classical

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, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but chose to dedicate his life to the development of culture in the Bahamas. Under his direction, the new nation of the Bahamas learned an appreciation of its indigenous music. He co-wrote and directed the ''Independence Pageant'', a survey of Bahamian history from pre-Columbian days to Bahamian Independence from Britain, which was performed on the evening leading up to the morning of July 10, 1973. He composed the folk opera ''Sammie Swain'', which he adapted from a Bahamian folktale and he wrote and arranged many Bahamian songs. Bethel's MA thesis in ethnomusicology, ''Music in The Bahamas: its Roots, Rhyme and Personality'', covered the development of Bahamian music from the slave era to the 20th century, and one chapter of that thesis was expanded into the book ''Junkanoo: Festival of The Bahamas'' ( Macmillan

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

1992, ). Bethel's children were named Nicolette Bethel and Edward Clement Bethel Junior. He died at the age of 49 from a hereditary kidney illness. His daughter,

Nicolette Bethel Nicolette Bethel is a Bahamian teacher, writer and anthropologist. She was the Director of Culture in The Bahamas, and is now a full-time lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at the University of the Bahamas. Education Nicolette Bethel stud ...

, has continued his work and expanded ''Junkanoo: Festival of The Bahamas''.

References

1938 births 1987 deaths Bahamian musicians Bahamian composers Deaths from kidney disease 20th-century composers 20th-century conductors (music) {{conductor-stub