Marguerita "Rita" Spencer (December 28, 1892 – May 5, 1993) 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 ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

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 ...

, composer and educator. She was born Marguerita MacQuarrie in

Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated t ...

and studied music there and at the Halifax Ladies' College, where she studied organ, piano and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. She then studied nursing at the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

, graduating in 1921. In 1922, she married Roy Aubrey Spencer; the couple moved to

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, where her husband taught engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. Spencer continued her musical education there, studying with

Lyell Gustin Lyell Gustin (May 31, 1895 – February 8, 1988) was a pianist, teacher and adjudicator active in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, from 1920 to the mid-1980s. Early life Gustin was born on May 31, 1895, in Fitch Bay, Quebec. He was educated there and a ...

, and also earned a Licentiate in Music from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she played accompaniment for

silent movies A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

; she also played concerts for troops during both World Wars. Spencer performed on CBC radio and played with the

Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a professional orchestra based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan administered by the non-profit Saskatoon Symphony Society. The orchestra was founded in 1927 as an amateur orchestra, but today has 10 core member ...

. Her compositions include ''Prairie Suite No. 1'' and ''24 Preludes''. She experienced sight problems later in life and used a tape recorder and transcriber. In 1986, she was the subject of a CBC television documentary. Spencer died in Saskatoon at the age of 100.

References

1892 births 1993 deaths Canadian classical composers Canadian classical pianists Canadian women pianists Canadian organists Women organists 20th-century organists 20th-century classical pianists Canadian women composers 20th-century women pianists {{Canada-musician-stub