Michael Conway Baker (born March 13, 1937) 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 ...

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 was born in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

. After self-teaching basic music theory as a child, Baker moved to

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, ...

in 1958 at which time he began formal piano studies. Subsequently, Baker studied music at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, 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 a ...

where he was a pupil in music composition with teachers

Jean Coulthard Jean Coulthard, (February 10, 1908 – March 9, 2000) was a Canadian composer and music educator. She was one of a trio of women composers who dominated Western Canadian music in the twentieth century: Coulthard, Barbara Pentland, and Violet ...

and Elliot Weisgarber. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1966, he eventually pursued graduate studies at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

where he earned a Masters of Music in 1972. Baker has composed numerous scores for film, television and has over 150 concert works to his credit for which he has received many awards. Included in his awards are three

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

(

The Grey Fox ''The Grey Fox'' is a 1982 Canadian biographical Western film directed by Phillip Borsos and written by John Hunter. It is based on the true story of Bill Miner, an American stagecoach robber who staged his first Canadian train robbery on 10 Se ...

1983 and John and the Missus 1987), one

Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year The Juno Award for "Classical Composition of the Year" has been awarded since 1987, as recognition each year for the best classical music composition in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territori ...

(Concerto For Piano and Chamber Orchestra, 1992) and an

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.

for best score for a TV Series (David Suzuki's A Planet for the Taking). He has composed for the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

, Fanfare to

Expo '86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

in Vancouver, many feature films and TV series including several episodes of

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the ''CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created b ...

. In 1997, Baker 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 B ...

. Michael Conway Baker was inducted into the

British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in Vancouver was founded on 24 July 1992 to honour British Columbians that have made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Star Walk inductees are featured with a plaque on the Walk of Fame on ...

in November, 2006 with a star on the sidewalk in Vancouver, BC just like his father, comedian Phil Baker has on the sidewalk in Hollywood, CA. Within the Canadian music circles, he is somewhat well known for having composed Vancouver Variations, used as the theme music for the

CBC Radio 2 CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

morning request program '' Here's to You''. Internationally, his music is known for Dorothy Hamill's Ice Capades full length ice-ballet Cinderella: Frozen in Time which toured North America and China for 5 years. Besides that highly popular soundtrack album, he has seven albums entirely of his music as well as having works on many other cds. Michael Conway Baker spent seventeen years as an elementary school teacher and currently lives in North Vancouver. His wife Penny Anne Baker, manager and lyricist, passed in 2017.

References

External links

*
Michael Conway Baker official site

Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Michael Conway 1937 births Living people Canadian film score composers University of British Columbia School of Music alumni Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners Canadian classical composers Canadian television composers Best Original Score Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Summit Records artists