Jean Coulthard, (February 10, 1908 – March 9, 2000) 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 ...

composer 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 ...

. She was one of a trio of women composers who dominated Western Canadian music in the twentieth century: Coulthard,

Barbara Pentland Barbara Pentland C.M. (2 January 1912 – 5 February 2000) was one of the pre-eminent members of the generation of Canadian composers who came to artistic maturity in the years following World War Two. Life and career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba ...

, and

Violet Archer Violet Louise Archer (24 April 191321 February 2000) was a Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, organist, and percussionist. Born Violet Balestreri in Montreal, Quebec, in 1913, her family changed their name to Archer in 1940. She died in Ottawa o ...

. All three died within weeks of each other in 2000. Her own work might be loosely termed "prematurely neo-Romantic", as the orthodox serialists who dominated academic musical life in North America during the 1950s and 1960s had little use for her. Some of her well-known compositions include ''Cradle Song'', ''Threnody'', ''Canadian Fantasy'', ''Ballade "A Winter's Tale"'' and her opera ''Return of the Native''.

Life and career

Born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Coulthard was the daughter of Jean Blake Robinson Coulthard, a prominent and influential music teacher in Vancouver. Through her mother she received her earliest musical training and was introduced at an early age to the work of French composers like Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, both of whom were lifelong influences. From 1924-1928 she studied the piano with Jan Cherniavsky and music theory with Frederick Chubb. A scholarship from the Vancouver Woman's Musical Club enabled her to pursue studies at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

in 1928-1929 where she was a pupil of Kathleen Long, R.O. Morris, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. She studied in the 1930s and early 1940s with such composers as Béla Bartók,

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

, and Arnold Schoenberg. In 1944-1945, Coulthard worked for an entire academic year with

Bernard Wagenaar Bernard Wagenaar (July 18, 1894 – May 19, 1971) was a Dutch-American composer, conductor and violinist. Wagenaar was born in Arnhem. He studied at Utrecht University before starting his career as a teacher and conductor in 1914. He moved to ...

of the Juilliard School, New York. In 1948 she met the British composer

Elizabeth Poston Elizabeth Poston (24 October 1905 – 18 March 1987) was an English composer, pianist and writer. Early life and career Poston was born in Highfield House in Pin Green, which is now the site of Hampson Park in Stevenage. In 1914, she moved w ...

(who was visiting Canada) and they began a long friendship and an extensive correspondence over the next 30 years. Beginning in 1925, Coulthard taught the piano privately in her mother's studio, and then as an independent teacher (1935–1947). In 1947 she joined the fledgling Department of Music in the Faculty of Arts of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

. The head of the department, Harry Adaskin, hired first Coulthard, and then (in 1949) Barbara Pentland, to teach theory and composition. Coulthard taught composition in the department, and later (from 1967) in the administratively distinct UBC School of Music (1967–1973). In 1956-7, she spent a year in Paris and in Roquebrune, southern France, beginning an opera and completing several substantial chamber and vocal works. A later sabbatical in London permitted Coulthard to work in a sustained way with Gordon Jacob, the British composer and orchestrator. Coulthard's composition students included Canadian composers

Chan Ka Nin Chan Ka Nin (born 3 December 1949) is a Canadian composer and music educator of Chinese descent. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1971. He has been commissioned to write works for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the CBC Radio O ...

Michael Conway Baker Michael Conway Baker (born March 13, 1937) is a Canadian composer and music educator of American birth. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1970 and has lived more or less continuously in the Vancouver area since. Life and career Baker wa ...

, Sylvia Rickard, Ernst Schneider, Robert Knox, Jean Ethridge, Joan Hansen, David Gordon Duke, Lloyd Burritt and Frederick Schipizky. In 1978, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1994, she was awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier ...

. Her work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

Principal works

* 4 Studies for piano (1945) * Sonata for piano (1947) * Sonata for cello and piano (1947) * String Quartet No. 1 (1948) * Symphony No. 1 (1950) * Variations on BACH (1951) * Sonata in duet for violin and piano (1952) * ''A Prayer for Elizabeth'' for Strings (1953) * String Quartet No. 2 ''Threnody'' (1954, rev. 1969) * 12 Preludes (1954–1964) * Violin Concerto (1959) * Sonata Rhapsody, for viola and piano (1962) * 6 Medieval Songs, for baritone and piano (1962) * Piano Concerto (1963, rev. 1967) * ''Endymion'', symphonic poem (1964) * Choral symphony ''This land'' (Symphony No. 2) for choir and orchestra (1967) * Lyric trio, for piano, violin and cello (1968) * Divertimento, for horn, bassoon and piano (1968) * Lyric sonatina, for bassoon and piano (1971) * Octet (double string quartet) (1972) * Lyric Symphony (No. 3) for bassoon and orchestra (1975) * Burlesca, for piano and orchestra (1977) * Symphonic Ode, for viola and orchestra (1977) * Autumn Symphony (No. 4), for String orchestra (1984) * Symphonic Image ''Vision of the North'', for String orchestra (1989)

References

* Kydd, Roseanne. 1992. "Jean Coulthard: A Revised View." SoundNotes. SN2:14-24.

External links

Jean Coulthard: Showcase
at the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

.
Jean Coulthard fonds
at the University of British Columbia.

Life and career

Principal works

References

External links

Further reading

See also