Milton Barnes (16 December 1931 – 27 February 2001) was a Canadian composer,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

drummer. 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 A ...

, his music is noted for its frequent use of Jewish themes, its rejection of the

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

in favor of tonality, and its blend of classical, jazz, and pop elements. His music has been labeled by some critics as "eclectic fusion". He was commissioned to write works by Robert Aitken,

Liona Boyd Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a classical guitarist often referred to as the First Lady of the Guitar. Music career Early years Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spain, and her ...

Paul Brodie Paul Brodie, (April 10, 1934 – November 19, 2007) was a Canadian saxophonist, pupil of Marcel Mule. In 1994, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for having "shown true mastery of his art through h ...

, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governme ...

Erica Goodman Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * Eric ...

, Joseph Macerollo, the Harbord Bakery, the

New Chamber Orchestra of Canada New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, the

Ontario Federation of Symphony Orchestras Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Can ...

John Perrone John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and Trio Lyra among others. He remained active as a composer up until his sudden death of a heart attack in 2001. He is the father of singer/songwriter

Micah Barnes Micah Barnes is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He has performed both as a solo artist and with the band the Nylons. Born in Vienna, Barnes is the son of composer, conductor and jazz drummer Milton Barnes, and author, TV (Mr Dressup) and CBC ...

, cellist Ariel Barnes, and drummer/producer Daniel Barnes.

Life

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Barnes entered

The Royal 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 as The Toronto Con ...

(RCM) in 1952 where he was a pupil of

Samuel Dolin Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

(piano), Victor Feldbrill (conducting),

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a stud ...

(composition),

Boyd Neel Louis Boyd Neel O.C. (19 July 190530 September 1981) was an English, and later Canadian conductor and academic. He was Dean of the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto. Neel founded and conducted chamber orchestras, and con ...

(conducting), Walter Susskind (conducting), and John Weinzweig (composition). He graduated from the RCM in 1955 after which he entered the Vienna Academy of Music where he earned a master's degree in 1961. He also spent summers during the 1950s studying at the

Chigiana School The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally ...

in Siena, Italy and the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglewo ...

in Lenox, Massachusetts. During the 1960s and 1970s, Barnes was highly active as a conductor in North America, both as a guest conductor and in staff positions. He notably founded the

Toronto Repertory Ensemble Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

(TRE) in 1964, a group which commissioned and performed contemporary Canadian music under his leadership through 1973. A number of the TRE's concerts were broadcast on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

and

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

. From 1961-1963 he conducted and composed music for the Crest Theatre in Toronto. In 1964 he was appointed principal conductor of the St Catharines Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (now the

Niagara Symphony Orchestra Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada * Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff o ...

), a post he held until 1972. At the same time he served as conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus of Niagara Falls, New York from 1965-1973. He also conducted and composed music for the

Toronto Dance Theatre The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regula ...

from 1968-1973 and periodically did similar work for the

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is a performing arts theatre complex located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Situated on Front Street one block east of Yonge Street, it was the City of Toronto's official centennial project, commemorat ...

during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973 Barnes abandoned his work as a conductor in favor of putting his full concentration towards composition. From here on he only conducted performances of his own works, notably doing so for three broadcasts on the

program '' Morningside'' and for several film and television scoress for the CBC. His 1975 cantata ''Shir Hashirim'' was premiered under his baton in July 1999 in Toronto. His last complete composition, ''Songs of Arrival'', premiered at the Historic Old Toronto Summer Music Festival 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Milton 1931 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian drummers 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian jazz drummers Canadian male drummers Canadian male jazz musicians Composers for harmonica Male conductors (music) Musicians from Toronto Pupils of Ernst Krenek The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni