James McDonald Gayfer (26 March 1916 – 7 April 1997) was a

Canadian 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 ...

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...

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 ...

ist,

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 ...

, conductor,

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 ...

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

, and

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 ...

. His compositional output encompasses several

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l works, including two

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

, numerous works for band and solo piano, a modest amount of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, and several

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s, and choral works. In 1944 his

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

won the CPRS award and in 1947 his ''Six Translations from the Chinese'' for

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and small orchestra won the

Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada The Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada (french: Association des compositeurs, auteurs et éditeurs du Canada Ltée) was a Canadian copyright collective for the right to communicate with the public and publicly perform musical wo ...

competition. In 1953, he was appointed to the post of Director of Music of the

Band of the Canadian Guards The Canadian Guards (officially known as the Regiment of Canadian Guards) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October ...

, serving until 1961. From then on, he served as a musical training officers of the

Canadian Forces School of Music The Canadian Forces School of Music, CFSM (French language: École de musique des Forces canadiennes, EMFC) was an educational institution that supported the music branch and all Canadian military bands in the Canadian Forces. It was created in ...

. In 1960 he wrote ''The Canadian Infantryman'', the official

march past A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

of the

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (french: Corps d'infanterie royal canadien) is the infantry corps of the Canadian Army and includes regular and reserve force regiments. Originally formed as the Canadian Infantry Corps on 2 September 1942 to en ...

. Although Gayfer's works remain unpublished, some of them have been recorded by a number of artists, including

Howard Cable Howard Reid Cable (December 15, 1920March 30, 2016) was a conductor, arranger, music director, composer, and radio and television producer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Biography Cable received an Associate diploma (ATCM) from The R ...

, David Mills, and the

Edmonton Wind Ensemble Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

. The

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

of the Royal 22^e Régiment continues to perform his works with some frequency. In 1983 he was awarded the

Service Medal of the Order of St John The Service Medal of the Order of St John is awarded to recognise both conspicuous and long service with the Venerable Order of St John, particularly in St John Ambulance, both in the United Kingdom and in a number of other Commonwealth countr ...

Life

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 ...

, Gayfer studied 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 1941. In 1942 he met

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

and the two men went on to become lifelong friends. He pursued further studies in London where he earned an associates diploma at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in 1946 and a licentiate from the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in 1947. He also attended courses at the

Royal Military School of Music The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. Until August 2021, the school was based at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, however it moved to HMS ...

from 1945 to 1947. He returned to the University of Toronto, earning a

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or occasionally Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted b ...

in 1950. Among his notable teachers were Jennie Goodman Bouck and Reginald Godden (piano), Maitland Farmer (organ), and

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 ...

(orchestration), Arthur H. Middleton, and

S. Drummond Wolff Stanley Drummond Wolff (4 February 1916 – 9 April 2004) was an English organist, choirmaster, composer, and music educator who was primarily active in North America. His compositional output primarily consists of anthems for choir and works for ...

. In 1940 Gayfer joined the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

, ultimately becoming a clarinetist in the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

of the

Royal Canadian Corps of Signals The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS or RC Sigs; french: links=no, Corps des transmissions royal du Canada, CTRC) is a component within the Canadian Armed Forces' Communications and Electronics Branch, consisting of all members of that person ...

with whom he was stationed in Europe from 1943 to 1945. He later was appointed command bandmaster and command inspector of bands, a post he held from 1947 to 1951. From 1954 to 1961 he was director of music of the band of

The Canadian Guards The Canadian Guards (officially known as the Regiment of Canadian Guards) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 19 ...

and from 1961 to 1968 he served as the first musical training officer for the

. He notably took some of the military bands to Japan and Korea for concerts to entertain troops overseas. He retired from the military in 1966 with the rank of Major. While serving in the military, Gayfer, also held various church posts in the Ontario area as organist/choirmaster. He was also conductor of the Harmony Symphony Orchestra from 1949 to 1954 and was involved in conducting opera and operetta performances in Toronto from 1962 to 1966. He served as the associate conductor of the

Victoria Symphony Orchestra The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered Vancouver Island's best-known active performing arts organization. Currently conducted by Danish conductor Christian Kluxen, the orchestra consists o ...

in 1963-1964 and was the leader of the Kitchener Musical Society Band in 1971–1972. After leaving the Canadian Army, Gayfer joined the teaching staff at

Southwood Secondary School Southwood Secondary School is a high school in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, for students in West Galt and North Dumfries. History Southwood was founded in 1962. Although it has one of the lower student enrollments in the region, that does not see ...

in Galt where he taught from 1966 to 1972. In 1967 he founded the Galt Community Choir and Orchestra, serving as the groups conductor through 1970. He also taught music classes at Champlain High School in Pembroke and was a member of the music faculty at

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 ...

from 1972 to 1974. In 1978 he founded the Petawawa Legion Community Band. He died in

Lindsay, Ontario Lindsay is a community of 22 367 people (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 census) on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes (Ontario), Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough, Ontario, Peterboro ...

at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayfer, James 1916 births 1997 deaths Military personnel from Toronto Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal Military School of Music Canadian Army officers Canadian clarinetists Canadian male composers Male conductors (music) Canadian organists Male organists Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Canadian music educators Musicians from Toronto University of Toronto alumni 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century organists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian military musicians Canadian Army personnel of World War II Royal Canadian Corps of Signals soldiers