James Louis Montgomery (born 6 February 1943) is 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 ...

music

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 ...

, performer, and

arts administrator The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

. For about 20 years he was the artistic director of

The Music Gallery The Music Gallery is an independent performance venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known as a space for musical and interdisciplinary projects in experimental genres. The Music Gallery is publicly funded through arts grants from the city, pr ...

. He is also a founding member of the

Canadian Electronic Ensemble The Canadian Electronic Ensemble (CEE) is a Canadian electronic music ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1971 by David Grimes, David Jaeger, Larry Lake and James Montgomery, it is the oldest continuously active live-electronic p ...

with whom he performs and records. As a composer he is known for incorporating electronic technology into his works.

Early life and education

Born in Ravenna, Ontario, Montgomery 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 ...

degree in 1966 from

Baldwin–Wallace Conservatory of Music The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music is part of the Baldwin Wallace University, in Berea, Ohio. The main building is Kulas Hall. The Conservatory is home to the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in the United ...

. He pursued further studies at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

(UT) with

Gustav Ciamaga Gustav Ciamaga (April 10, 1930 – June 11, 2011) was a Canadian composer, music educator, and writer. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers, he was best known for his compositions of electronic ...

. From the UT he earned a Master of Music degree in 1972.

Career

In 1990 Montgomery taught in the Faculty of Education at the UT as a professor of electronic media. In 1971 Montgomery co-founded the

(CEE) with David Jaeger, David Grimes, and Larry Lake. He has performed and recorded with the CEE since then, and served as the group's managing director from 1976 to 1983. The CEE is currently the oldest continuously active live-electronic performing group in the world. In 1984 they performed at the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

's World Music Days Festival. In 1986 the CEE joined the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

to perform the world premiere of

Steven Gellman Steven Gellman (born 16 September 1947) is a Canadian composer and pianist. He has been commissioned to write works for the Besançon International Music Festival, the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, McGill University, Musica ...

's ''Universe Symphony''. The ensemble has appeared in concerts with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, the

Ottawa Symphony Orchestra The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic rep ...

, and the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

. Since 1974 the CEE has presented an annual concert series in Toronto. They have given regular international tours since 1975. In 1984 Montgomery became the administrative director of

New Music Concerts New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. He remained in that position until 1987 when he was appointed artistic director of

. In 1988 Montgomery created the musical score for the educational short film

Sorting Out Sorting Sorting refers to ordering data in an increasing or decreasing manner according to some linear relationship among the data items. # ordering: arranging items in a sequence ordered by some criterion; # categorizing: grouping items with similar pro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, James 1943 births Living people Canadian arts administrators Baldwin Wallace University alumni Canadian composers Canadian male composers University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto