Brock McElheran (6 January 1918 – 23 September 2008) was a conductor and professor at the

Crane School of Music The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Crane consists of approximately 630 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a faculty o ...

at SUNY Potsdam and a published author.

Early life and education

McElheran was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, the son of Robert and Irene McElherean."Relax..."
''Winnipeg Free Press'', via Newspaper Archives. 26 February 1980 – Page 47 He moved with his family to Toronto in 1930 when his father became president of Wycliffe College in Toronto."Irene B. McElheran Dies In City At 76"
''Winnipeg Tribune'' via Newspaper Archives, 1 October 1955 – Page 2 He attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939 and a Bachelor of Music degrees in 1947."Winnipeg Man Leads Winning Choir At Utica"
''Winnipeg Free Press'', via Newspaper Archives. 4 June 1951 – Page 28 He studied conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Career

McElheran served in the navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as a meteorological officer. He then joined the faculty of the State of New York University at Potsdam. In 1964 McElheran wrote the textbook ''Conducting Techniques for Beginners and Professionals'', which is used today in several conducting classes around the world. Besides conducting various ensembles at the Crane School of Music, McElheran was also a guest conductor for a number of ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra. For fourteen years, beginning in about 1970, McElheran directed the Saratoga-Potsdam Choral Institute, (SPCI), a three-week summer school held at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York."Crane alum Renee Fleming featured at Saratoga"
''NNY360'', 1 September 2016 He was also conductor of The Elgar Choir in Montreal from 1972 until about 1980. McElheran conducted the orchestra and chorus at the closing ceremonies of the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

in Lake Placid. On July 1986, he conducted the Liberty Weekend Chorus on Governors Island in New York; the opening ceremony was televised on ABC. In 1995 he published a book recalling his experiences in

, ''V-Bombs and Weathermaps''. He also authored ''Music Reading by Intervals: A Modern Sight-Singing and Ear-Training Method for Singers, Conductors, and Teachers'' in 1998. Brock had various compositions published too. During his active career he prepared choruses for many of the world's leading conductors, including

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

, Robert Shaw and

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

. He died in

Potsdam, New York Potsdam ( moh, Tsi tewate’nehtararénies) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 13676. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the popul ...

in 2008. Recently, Nelly Maude Case, a professor at Crane, wrote a biography on McElheran, ''Worry Early: The Life of Brock McElheran''.

References

External links

Brock McElheran
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McElheran, Brock 1918 births 2008 deaths Male conductors (music) Canadian writers about music Musicians from Winnipeg Writers from Winnipeg State University of New York at Potsdam faculty 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian expatriates in the United States