Jean Ashworth Bartle, (born 7 March 1947 Littleborough, Lancashire, England) is a Canadian choral conductor, teacher, and Founder/Conductor Laureate of the

Toronto Children's Chorus The Toronto Children's Chorus is a children's choir based in Toronto. It was founded in 1978 by Jean Ashworth Bartle. The group has close to 500 members aged 6 to 30. History In 1982, the choir won first prize at the International Eisteddfod in ...

. Bartle became a naturalized Canadian in 1968 and received an ARCT in performance in 1970, ARCT in teaching in 1973, and a

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

with Honours from the University of Toronto in 1977. Jean Ashworth Bartle won the 1977 Leslie Bell Scholarship (Prize), and the 1982 Sir Ernest MacMillan Scholarship, which enabled her to study with

Sir David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridg ...

and Margaret Hillis at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey.

Choral conductor

Bartle founded the

(TCC) in 1978 in order to provide a children's choir for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She stepped down as artistic director of the choir in 2007, after 29 years at the helm.

Teacher

Bartle was a teacher for the Toronto Board of Education 1966-1998, including a period as director of the music program at Howard Public School in Toronto 1970-89, and of the junior choirs at Kingsway Lambton United Church. She had many music friends in the Howard Park neighborhood. Students of Howard Park learned to play piano and other musical instruments at private homes in the Howard Park neighborhood. Girls with low voices were encouraged to learn a musical instrument and boys with high voices were encouraged to also learn a musical instrument. She was also a member of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. She is highly active as a choral clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor throughout North America, Europe, Israel, South Africa, st, and the Pacific Rim. She holds an annual choral conductors' symposium that attracts choir directors from around the world.

Publications

Bartle has written two books; ''Lifeline for Children's Choir Directors'' (Toronto 1988) and ''Sound Advice: Becoming a Better Children's Choir Director'' (New York 2003)Bartle, Jean Ashworth
Sound Advice
February 2003, Oxford University Press, She also edits three choral music series.

Awards

In 1977 Bartle was awarded the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting. In 1986 she was awarded the Roy Thomson Hall Award for her outstanding contribution to musical life in Toronto. In 1998 she was invested in the Order of Ontario, and also received the Order of Canada. In 2002 she received the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

in London, and in November 2003 she was awarded an honorary life membership in the Ontario Music Educators' Association. In 2004, an award named in her honour, the Jean Ashworth Bartle Music Education Award, was established at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.

References

External links

Jean Ashworth Bartle
at The Canadian Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartle, Jean Ashworth 1947 births Living people Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario Musicians from Toronto Westminster Choir College alumni People from Littleborough, Greater Manchester The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni University of Toronto alumni 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) 21st-century Canadian women musicians