Clifford Robert Ford (born 30 May 1947) is a Canadian composer,
[Carl Morey. ]
Music in Canada: A Research and Information Guide
'. Routledge; 26 November 2013. . p. 30. editor,
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 ...
, and author. 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 As ...
, he is a founding member of
ARRAYMUSIC and a former member of the music faculties of
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
and
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
. He co-founded the
Canadian Musical Heritage Society for which he is executive secretary and technical editor.
Education
Born in
Toronto
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 ancho ...
, Ford studied piano,
organ, and voice privately in his native city with Eric Lewis from 1957 to 1962. In 1960 he 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 ...
where he studied
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
and
music composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...
with
John Beckwith through 1964. He later pursued further studies with Beckwith and
John Weinzweig
John Jacob Weinzweig, (March 11, 1913 – August 24, 2006) was a Canadian composer of classical music.
Weinzweig was born in Toronto. He went to Harbord Collegiate Institute, and studied music at the university. In 1937, he left for the United St ...
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 institution ...
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 prescr ...
in 1970. That same year he won the
Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada's Ernest MacMillan Award which provided him with funds to pursue studies with
István Anhalt
István Anhalt, (April 12, 1919 – February 24, 2012) was a Hungarian-Canadian composer.
Anhalt served as a professor of music at McGill University and founded the McGill University Electronic Music Studio. He also served as head of music a ...
at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in 1970–1971. He later returned to that school for graduate studies in composition, earning a
Master of Music in 1981. He also spent a year studying at the
Institute for Sonology at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
with
in 1973.
Career
Ford joined the faculty of McMaster University in 1974 and taught there until 1976. He then taught at Dalhousie University until 1980. In 1981 he co-founded the
Canadian Musical Heritage Society, and served as its executive secretary and technical editor.
In the 1980s Ford published several works about music in Canada, and later contributed articles to music publications, including several entries in ''
The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available fo ...
''.
Since 1989 he has worked as a consultant on electronic publishing.
Selected compositions
*''Mass'' 1976
Musical Canada: Words and Music Honouring Helmut Kallmann
'. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; 15 December 1988. . p. 13.
* "Little Fantasy"
*"Forbidden Colours"
Selected publications
*''Canada's music: an historical survey'', 1982.
*''Sacred choral music - Volume 1'', Canadian Musical Heritage Society, 1984.
*''Sacred choral music - Volume I1'', Canadian Musical Heritage Society, 1988.
Canadian Book Review Annual
'. Peter Martin Associates.; 1988. . p. 112.
* ''Variations on Alexander Davidson's "Toronto": for solo organ'', 1993
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Clifford
1947 births
Living people
Canadian composers
Canadian male composers
Canadian writers about music
Academic staff of the Dalhousie University
McGill University alumni
Academic staff of McMaster University
Canadian music educators
The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni
University of Toronto alumni
Musicians from Toronto