Charles O'Neill (31 August 1882 – 9 September 1964) was a Canadian

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

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 ...

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

ist and music educator of Scottish birth and Irish parentage. Although he wrote many symphonic and choral works, the majority of his compositional output was devoted to band music.

Education and early career

Born in

Duntocher Duntocher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Tòchair'' or ''Druim Tòchair'') is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 6,850. The etymology of the name of the village indicates that its name means "the fort on the ...

to Irish parents, O'Neill began his musical training in the piano as a young child. He then studied the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

with Albert Lister Peace in Glasgow and

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

with Archibald Evans in London. From 1897 to 1901 he serves as organist at

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

and was a cornet player in a local band in that city. In 1901, O'Neill moved to the United States, settling first in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and then in New York City in 1903. He moved again in 1905 to

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

in Canada, where he played in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Band as a cornet soloist. In 1908, he returned to England to receive training as a bandmaster for at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall through the support of the Canadian Department of National Defence. After earning a diploma from the RMSM in 1909, O'Neill returned to Canada in 1910 to succeed Joseph Vézina in the post of music director of the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery Band at the Citadelle of Quebec. He obtained the rank of captain in 1919. While directing the band he pursued further studies in music composition and theory with Herbert Sanders in Ottawa and then entered the music program at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree from McGill in 1914. Ten years later he earned a

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

from McGill with an emphasis in composition. He composed his largest work, the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

''The Ancient Mariner'' for chorus and orchestra, for his doctoral exercise.

Conductor, bandmaster, and adjudicator

In 1922, O'Neill was appointed the director of the band of the newly formed

Royal 22nd Regiment The Royal 22nd Regiment (R22R; ) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Known colloquially in English as the Van Doos (representing an anglicized pronunciation of the French number twenty-two, ) or in French as , the mostly francophone re ...

; a post he held for the next 15 years. The band was selected as the featured band of the 1927

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

, and he later conducted the Composite Permanent Force Band of Canada at the CNE in 1930. He also served regularly as an adjudicator at the CNE from 1923 on. In 1928 he was a co-adjudicator with

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...

and

Edwin Franko Goldman Edwin Franko Goldman (January 1, 1878 – February 21, 1956) was an American composer and conductor. One of the most significant American band composers of the early 20th century, Goldman composed over 150 works, but is best known for his March ...

at the US State and National Band Contests. He was also the vice president of the Dominion College of Music during the 1920s and 1930s. From 1933 to 1934, O'Neill served as the president of the American Bandmasters Association. From 1935 to 1937, he was the conductor of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

's orchestra in Quebec. He also worked as a guest conductor with several orchestras in Canada and the United States. In 1937, he was a guest conductor at the coronation of

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

of the United Kingdom in London.

Later career and retirement

O'Neill resigned from his post with the Royal 22nd Regiment in 1937 in order to take a position on the faculty of the Crane School of Music at the

State University of New York at Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or simply Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam (village), New York, Potsdam, New York, United States. Founded in 1816, it is the northernmost member of the State University of New Yo ...

where he taught music composition and conducting through 1947. He served as the head of the school's music department from 1942 to 1947. During these years he also served as the director of the summer music program and a summer school instructor at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. In 1948, O'Neill returned to Canada to join the music theory and composition faculty at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He taught there until his retirement in 1954. He served as honorary president of the

Canadian Band Association Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

from 1960 to 1964. He lived the remainder of his life in Quebec City and continued to compose up until his death in September, 1964 at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Charles 1882 births 1964 deaths Alumni of the Royal Military School of Music Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian male organists Canadian male trumpeters McGill University School of Music alumni Canadian music educators State University of New York at Potsdam faculty Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty People from West Dunbartonshire Canadian Army personnel 20th-century Canadian organists 20th-century Canadian trumpeters 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish people of Irish descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian military musicians