Howard Reid Cable (December 15, 1920March 30, 2016) was a conductor,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

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 Defi ...

, and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

. He was 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 ...

Ontario 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 Ca ...

, Canada.

Biography

Cable received an Associate diploma (ATCM) from

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 ...

in conducting and bandmastership 1939. He is also a recipient of an honorary

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) is a doctoral degree in fine arts, may be given as an honorary degree (a degree ''honoris causa'') or an earned professional degree (in the UK). Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs are of equivalent level ...

(DFA) degree from the

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

in 2002. Cable studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, and

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

, and played in the Parkdale Collegiate Institute orchestra under Leslie Bell. While leading a dance band, the Cavaliers, 1935-41 in Toronto and at southern Ontario summer resorts, he studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with Sir

Ernest MacMillan Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from the ...

Ettore Mazzoleni Ettore Mazzoleni (18 June 1905 – 1 June 1968) was a Canadian conductor, music educator, writer, and Arts administration, arts administrator of Swiss birth. He was one of the Canadian Opera Company's principal conductors during its early years, w ...

, and

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and ...

. He also studied with

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 ...

in 1945. Cable composed and arranged the original theme for the ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

'' television broadcast, ''Saturday's Game'', which opened the broadcast from 1952 until 1968. His arrangement for solo piano of Dolores Claman's ''

The Hockey Theme "The Hockey Theme" is a Canadian piece of instrumental theme music composed in 1968 by Dolores Claman and orchestrated by Jerry Toth. It was widely recognized as Canada's unofficial second national anthem. The theme was associated with CBC Te ...

'' that was the show's theme from 1968 until the mid-2000s is one of the best selling pieces of sheet music in Canada. (Jerry Toth arranged the broadcast version of "The Hockey Theme".) Cable was conductor for the early CBC TV variety programs General Electric Showtime and Mr. Show Business. In addition he conducted and arranged music for various CBC radio and TV programs in the 1960s. From 1971 to 1985 he was host of the program Howard Cable Presents heard on St. Catharines radio station "

CHRE-fm CHRE-FM (105.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, serving Niagara Region. It is owned by Bell Media and is branded as ''Move 105.7''. CHRE broadcasts an adult contemporary format. CHRE shares studios with its ...

", and for most of the years it was the station's highest rated program. It was Howard Cable's longtime relationship with

Canadian Brass The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. , ...

that put him on the international stage through numerous recordings and radio appearances. In 1999, he was made 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 ...

in recognition of his "legendary contribution to the Canadian music industry".

Musical Works

Brass Quintet

*Agnus Dei *Carnival of Venice *Civil War Medley *Concerto Op 4 No 6 *Contrapunctus No. 9 *Coranto Alarm *Cum rides mihi *D'ou viens-tu, bergere *Data est de lachryis mihi voluptas *First Nowell *Flight of the Tuba umbleBee *Greensleeves *Holly and the Ivy *Ida and Dottie *Jig *Jingle Bells *Joker, The *Joy to World *It Came Upon a Midnight Clear *La Cloche de Noel *La Rose Nuptiale *La Virgen de la Macarena *Lassus Trombone *Lo How a Rose e'er Blooming *Maple Leaf Rag *McIntyre Ranch Country *Newfoundland Rhapsody *Newfoundland Sketch *Noël Nouvelet *O Christmas Tree *O Come All Ye Faithful *O Little Town of Bethlehem *Midnight Clear *Perpetual Motion *Point Pelee (Horn solo with, 2nd mvt to "Ontario Pictures") *Queen of Night *Rowland (Lord Willowbye's Welcome Home) *Saddles and Saloons *Satyr's Dance *Silent Night *Six Carols A-Singing *Sousa Collection *Spinning Song *St. David's Day *Stephen Foster Treasury, A *The Challenge *Twelve Days of Christmas *Two Little Bullfinches *War Between the States *Wm Boyce Suite

Brass Ensemble

*Atlantic Medley *Canzon in echo duodecimi toni *Canzon No. 28 *Canzon per sonar septimi et octavi toni a 12 *Credo *Domine labia mea aperies *E questra vita *Gloria: Et in terra pax *Hodie completi sunt *Jubilate Deo *Kyrie eleison *Un Canadien Errant *Olympic Fanfare *Peter Amberly *Sanctus *Sanctus VI: Hosanna in excelsis *Sonata octavi toni

Brass & Choir

*Ding Dong Merrily On High *O Christmas Tree *Six Carols A-Singing *Twelve Days of Christmas * Up on a Rooftop

Choir

* Anne of Green Gables ( SSA) * Up on a Rooftop (

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

)

Wind Ensemble/Concert Band

* Newfoundland Rhapsody (1956) * Quebec Folk Fantasy (1953) * Snake Fence Country (1954) * Ontario Pictures (1986) * McIntyre Ranch Country (2002) * Good Medicine (2005) * Saskatchewan Overture (2007) * Canadian Musical Heroes (2015) * A Musical Tribute to a Legendary Music Man (2016) *Concertino for Bass Trombone (2016)

Marching Band

10 Provinces March The following is a list of the notable authorized marches for various organisations of the Canadian Armed Forces. The first march listed is the march most commonly performed for that organisation on parade; it is commonly referred to simply as ...

(an arrangement of folk tunes)

References

Cable, Howard
entry in ''The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada'' (part of ''

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 ...

'')
Howard Cable
Northdale Music Press Ltd. biography
Howard Cable
Canadian Music Centre biography

External links

Howard Cable
profile for University of Lethbridge Music Department
Howard Cable Remembers
the personal blog of Howard Cable {{DEFAULTSORT:Cable, Howard 1920 births 2016 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Canadian composers Canadian classical composers Canadian male classical composers Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Toronto The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni 20th-century Canadian male musicians