Dorothy Morton (September 17, 1924 — September 17, 2008) was a Canadian pianist and music teacher.

Life

Born Dorothy Breitman in Montreal, Quebec, she studied piano with

Stanley Gardner Stanley Gardner (13 December 1890 in Sherbrooke – 17 August 1945 in Montreal) was a Canadian pianist and music educator. As a performer he was best known as one half of a piano duo with Rose Goldblatt with whom he performed in concerts thro ...

and then studied music theory and composition at McGill University with Claude Champagne, Violet Archer,

Marvin Duchow Marvin Duchow (June 10, 1914 – May 24, 1979) was a Canadian composer, teacher and musicologist who lived and worked in Montreal, Quebec. He was an expert on Renaissance music and the music of eighteenth century France. The McGill University Music ...

and Douglas Clarke. Morton went on to study piano at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal with

Germaine Malépart Germaine Malépart (July 7, 1898 – April 19, 1963) was a Canadian pianist and music educator. She was born in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (now Laval, Quebec) and began taking piano lessons with at the age of 7. When she was 13, she performed for ...

and Isidor Philipp. She continued taking private lessons with Philipp in New York City. She received a number of grants to pursue further study, including the Delphic Study Club scholarship and the Sarah Fischer Concerts scholarship. She performed on the radio and in concert. With Esther Master, she performed in the piano duo the Morton-Master Duo. In 1955, she became a teacher at McGill. Her students included

James Gelfand James Gelfand (born April 3, 1959) is a Canadian jazz pianist who has written scores for film and television. Early life Gelfand was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada into a large Jewish family. He is the great-grandson of Jacob Pascal, founder ...

, Donald Steven, William Benjamin, Paul Berkowitz, Michel Kozlovsky, Robert Mayerovitch and Robert Silverman. In 1996, she was named a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. Morton also served on the faculty of the Orford Arts Centre. She wrote the chapter on piano for the book ''Careers in Music: A Guide for Canadian Students'' (1986). Morton married Allan Morton. She died in Montreal at the age of 84. The Dorothy Morton Visiting Artist Series Concert at McGill University was named in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Dorothy 1924 births 2008 deaths Canadian classical pianists Canadian women pianists Canadian music educators McGill University School of Music alumni Academic staff of McGill University Musicians from Montreal Women music educators Women classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century women pianists