Violet Louise Archer (24 April 191321 February 2000) was 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 ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

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, ...

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 ...

, and

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

. Born Violet Balestreri 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 ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, in 1913, her family changed their name to Archer in 1940. She died in

Ottawa 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 ...

on 21 February 2000.

Education and teaching career

] Archer earned a Licentiate (degree), licentiate degree in music from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1934, and a

bachelor of music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree from McGill in 1936. She studied composition with Douglas Clarke. Archer travelled to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the summer of 1942 and studied composition, including

Hungarian folk music Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

and variation technique, with

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

. She taught at the McGill Conservatory from 1944 to 1947. Later in the 1940s she studied with

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. She earned a B MUS from Yale in 1948, and a M MUS also from Yale in 1949. From 1950 to 1953 Archer was Composer-in-Residence at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

. From 1953 through 1961 she taught at the University of Oklahoma. Returning to Canada in 1961 for doctoral study at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, she set that aside when, in 1962, she joined the Faculty of Music at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. There she would become chairman of the Theory and Composition Department. She remained at the University of Alberta until her retirement. Her notable students include Larry Austin, Jan Randall, Allan Gilliland, and Allan Gordon Bell.

Musical career

Archer built a career as a musician and composer in addition to her teaching. She played percussion with the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra from 1940 to 1947, a time period when major municipal orchestras were not admitting women to their ranks. In addition to percussion, Archer played clarinet and strings, and worked in Montréal as an accompanist and organist. As a composer, Archer's prolific work of more than 330 compositions included traditional and more contemporary works for instrument and voice. Examples of her wide-ranging work include a 1973 comic opera, ''Sganarelle'', the film score for a 1976 documentary, ''Someone Cares,'' and experiments with electronic music. Her music includes some 90 compositions for novice musicians, written to acquaint performers and audiences with modern concepts of

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 ...

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

, and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

Awards and honours

Archer has received honorary degrees from

(1971),

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

(1986),

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

(1989),

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

(1992), and

(1993). In 1983, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. In 1985 the three day Violet Archer Festival was held in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

where 14 of her works were performed. This festival is credited as being first festival to honour a living Canadian composer. She is memorialized at Violet Archer Park in the Parkallen neighbourhood of Edmonton. In Calgary, the Prairie Region of

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 ...

Library is home to The Violet Archer Library which holds over 20,000 scores. In 2021, Violet Archer fonds held at University of Alberta Archives was added to the Canada Memory of the World Register. The Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band The Violet Archers is named for Archer.

Gallery

File:Violet Archer age 4.tif, alt=Black and white studio portrait of Violet Archer, age 4, Violet Archer, age 4. Source
University of Alberta Archives
File:Violet Archer age 11 with her parents.tif, alt=Black and white photo of Violet Archer age 11 with her parents, Violet Archer age 11 with her parents. Source
University of Alberta Archives
File:Violet Archer on graduation day, Yale University.tif, alt=Black and white photo of Violet Archer on graduation day, Yale University, Violet Archer on graduation day, Yale University. Source
University of Alberta Archives
File:Violet Archer with friends at Yale University.tif, alt=Black and white photo of Violet Archer with friends at Yale University, Violet Archer with friends at Yale University. Source
University of Alberta Archives
File:Violet Archer at the piano.tif, Violet Archer at the piano. Source
University of Alberta Archives

Selected works

* 3 Concerti, Archer Piano Concerto, Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, Centrediscs(CMCCD)15610 * ''Women Composers for Organ'', Barbara Harbach. Peterborough, NH: Gasparo Records (294), 2006. * ''Ovation, Volume 2''. Toronto: CBC Records (PSCD 2027-5), 2002. * ''Canadian Composers Portraits''. Toronto: Centrediscs, (CMCCD 8502) 2002. * ''Sinfonietta'' (CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra, John Avison, conductor) * ''Trio no. 2'' (The Hertz Trio) * ''String Quartet no. 3'' (University of Alberta String Quartet) * ''The Bell'' (CBC Chorus and Orchestra, Geoffrey Waddington, conductor) * ''Northern Landscapes – A Tribute to Violet Archer'', Sarah Muir and Ann Nichols, performers with the Columbian Girls Choir and Chanteuses. Edmonton, 1997. * ''Surrealistic Portraiture'' Kenneth Fischer, saxophone, Martha Thomas, piano. Atlanta: ACA Digital (ACD 20036), 2001. * ''By a Canadian Lady – Piano Music 1841–1997'', Elaine Keillor, piano. Ottawa: Carleton Sound CD1006, 2000. * ''Assemblage'', Charles Foreman, piano. Calgary: Unical (CD9501), 1995?. * ''NORTHERN ARCH'', various artists, Edmonton: Arktos Recordings (ARK 94001), 1994. * ''Soliloquies for changing Bb and A clarinets'' (performed by Dennis Prime) * ''CROSSROADS'', James Campbell, clarinet. Toronto: Centrediscs / Centredisques (CMCCD 4392), 1992. * ''Ballade'', Charles Foreman, piano. Toronto: Centrediscs, (CMCCD 1684), 1991. * ''Hertz Trio''. Calgary: Unical Records, 1991.

Songs

* "À la claire fontaine" (SA and

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 ...

) – Berandol Music

References

External links

* University of Alberta Archives �
Violet Archer Fonds
(28 m of textual records. – ca. 750 sounds recordings. – 18 video cassettes. – 20 art works. – 2420 graphic materials.) * University of Calgary Special Collections �
Violet Archer fonds
(0.525 m of textual records.)
Music of Violet Archer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Violet B 1913 births 2000 deaths Canadian people of Italian descent Members of the Order of Canada University of North Texas College of Music faculty Canadian women classical composers Musicians from Montreal Pupils of Béla Bartók Pupils of Paul Hindemith 20th-century Canadian classical composers 20th-century Canadian women composers