Richard Johnston (7 May 1917 – 16 August 1997) 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 ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, and university administrator of American birth. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1957. 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 ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ce ...

in February 1997. The library at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...

holds a substantial amount of his papers, manuscripts, and transcripts in its "Richard Johnston Canadian Music Archives Collection". His original fieldwork tapes and transcripts made during his research as a folklorist are part of the collection at the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) 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 ...

Early life and education

Born Albert Richard Johnston in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, he began his musical education with Ruth Crazier-Curtis. He entered Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois in 1934 but left the school after just one year. He later matriculated to

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

where he earned a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of presc ...

in 1942. He briefly taught on the music faculty of Luther College in Wahoo, Nebraska before beginning private studies with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in Madison, Wisconsin in 1943-1944. With her he performed the world premiere of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

's ''Sonata for Two Pianos'' (1944). He pursued graduate studies at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

from 1944-1947 where he earned both a Master of Music and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in music. He later studied music education throughout Eastern Europe, notably with

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music ed ...

in Hungary in 1965.

Career

In 1947 Johnston immigrated to Canada to join the music faculty at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

(UT). He taught at the school through 1968 during which time he taught classes in music theory and spent a few years as the school's choir conductor. One of his notable pupils at the UT was R. Murray Schafer. From 1954-1970 he was editor-in-chief of ''Songs for Today'', a music publication for school music teachers. He served as president of the Ontario Music Educators' Association in 1958-1959 and in 1959 he helped establish the Canadian Music Educators' Association. From 1962-1968 he director of

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 ...

's Summer School where he also taught/supported courses in the

Orff Schulwerk The Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is a developmental approach used in music education. It combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons that are similar to a child's world of play. It was developed by the German compose ...

method and the Kodály Method of music education. He also was responsible for establishing the CAPAC-MacMillan lectures at the RCMT. During the late 1940s through the 1960s, Johnston worked periodically for 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 ...

as a composer, arranger, conductor, and commentator. On 12 October 1949 he conducted the chorus for the Canadian premiere of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fiction ...

'' for the opening of the CBC Opera Company's second season with William Morton in the title role,

Edmund Hockridge Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his li ...

as Captain Balstrode, Frances James as Ellen Orford, Eric Tredwell as Swallow, and

Gordon Wry Gordon Wry (1910–1985) was a Canadian tenor and conductor. His voice is preserved on a handful of recordings made with pianist Glenn Gould. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Wry studied singing with renowned contralto Nellie Smith and music ...

as Bob Boles. The production was awarded the Best Music Program prize at the 1950 Canadian Radio Awards Competition. He was a commentator for the ''

CBC Wednesday Night ''CBC Wednesday Night'' was a weekly anthology series which aired on CBC Radio from 1947 until the 1970s. The program featured a mix of music, plays, operas, documentaries, and news, and typically ran for around three hours without commercials. It ...

'' program ''Vienna, the Glorious Age'' (1951) and the radio series ''Folk Music, A Living Canadian Art'' (1958). Johnston also had a lifelong interest in folk music; most notably collecting more than 200 previously un-published folksongs and Métis fiddle music from the Saskatchewan region in 1957 through the sponsorship of the

and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. In 1956 he helped found the Canadian Society for Traditional Music. He worked extensively with Edith Fowke with whom he worked on the publications ''Folk Songs of Canada'' ( Waterloo Music Company 1954), ''Folk Songs of Quebec'' (Waterloo 1957), ''Chansons canadiennes françaises'' (Waterloo 1964), and ''More Folk Songs of Canada'' (Waterloo 1967). He worked as a producer for two recordings with Joyce Sullivan: ''Folk Songs of Canada'' (for RCI, also with baritone Glenn Gardiner) and ''Folk Songs of Canada'' (Waterloo, also with Charles Jordan). The Ensemble Vocal Katimavik recorded his arrangement of the Canadian folk song ''J'ai cueilli la belle rose''. In 1984 he served as editor-in-chief of ''Folk Songs North America Sings'' and worked in the same capacity for the Kodály Society of Canada's three volumes titled ''Kodály and Education'' in 1986. In 1968 Johnston was appointed the Dean of Fine Arts at the

(UC). He remained in that position until 1973, after which he taught on the UC's music faculty until his retirement from teaching in 1982. At the UC he notably established the composer archives and for many years managed their continual expansion. In 1971 he was a founding member of the Alberta Music Conference, serving as the group's first president from 1971-1973. From 1971-1974 he was the vice-president of the

Canadian Music Council Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

, later serving on the CMC's publications committee during the late 1970s. In 1973 he was editor-in-chief of the Western Board of Music piano series ''Horizons'' and in 1977 he became the Alberta Composers' Association's first president. After Johnston's retirement from teaching, he continued to compose and remained active on the committees of the Canadian Music Centre and the Canadian Society for Traditional Music. He was named a professor emeritus at the UC in 1985 and the university presented a concert of his works on 16 October 1987 in honour of his 70th birthday and again in 1992 for his 75th birthday. He also occasionally gave guest lectures, the last of which was given in the year of his death at the 1997 Kodály Summer Program in Calgary. He died in Calgary at the age of 80. He was married for many years to the pianist Yvonne Guiguet who had died earlier in 1985.

Selected works

*''Suite for Bassoon and Piano''. 1946 (orch 1946). Mel SMLP-4032 (Weait) *''Symphony No. 1.'' 1950. Orch. Ms *''3 Suites for Piano''. (No. 1, 2 1965, No. 3 1988). (No. 1) BMIC 1965, (No. 2) Ber 1969. (No. 2) CCM 1 (Cavalho) *''The Irish Book'' (S. O'Sullivan, A. O'Shaughnessy). 1971. High voice, piano. Wat 1971 *''Portraits: Variations for Orchestra''. 1972. Orch. Ms *''Answer Back'' (arr of folk songs). 1973. Bar, soprano, piano. Ms *''Folk Love Canadian Style'' (arr of folk songs). 1973. Med voice, piano. Ms *''Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano''. 1978. Ms *''5 Duo Concerti'' (1979–89). (No. 1) Vn, (2) bsn, (3) fl (piccolo), (4) trumpet, (5) saxophone; all with piano. Ms *''Poème for Orchestra''. 1981. Orch. Ms *''Missa Brevis''. 1984. Org. Ms *''Sextette''. 1988. Woodwind quintet, piano. Ms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Richard 1917 births 1997 deaths Canadian male composers Male conductors (music) Canadian music critics Eastman School of Music alumni Members of the Order of Canada Canadian music educators Bienen School of Music alumni Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music Academic staff of the University of Calgary Musicians from Chicago Augustana College (Illinois) alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century American composers 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century American male musicians American emigrants to Canada