David Parry (18 June 1942 - 13 June 1995) was a Canadian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

ian, storyteller,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was an important presence in the Canadian folk music scene from the mid-1970s up until his death in 1995. He worked both as a solo artist and as a member of the

Friends of Fiddler's Green Friends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto founded in 1971 and still active as of 2018. The members of the group at the time of its first recording, 1981's ''This Side of the Ocean'', were Alistair Brown, Tam Kearne ...

, a ceilidh band based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. He was married to writer and musician

Caroline Balderston Parry Caroline Balderston Parry (1945 – Feb 11, 2022) was a Canadian writer, musician, performer, celebrator, and consultant. She was the author of ''Zoomerang a Boomerang'', ''Let's Celebrate Canada's Special Days'', which won a 1987-88 Toronto IOD ...

. Biography of David Parry at allmusic.com/ref> Their son

Richard Reed Parry Richard Reed Parry (born October 4, 1977) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, best known as a core member of the Grammy Award-winning indie rock band Arcade Fire, where he plays a wide variety of instruments, often switching ...

(born 1977) is a member of the rock band

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...

and their daughter Evalyn Parry is a prominent spoken-word performer and musician. Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Parry received his formal training in theater, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in historical drama. He began his career as a stage actor in England during the early 1960s. He soon moved into directing plays as well and also began working as a semi-professional musician. During the 1960s and early 1970s he acted in and directed plays in England, Europe, India, and North America. In the mid-'70s, Parry moved with his wife to Toronto, where he began playing solo dates as a singer and storyteller. He soon became a fixture on Toronto's folk scene. He became a member of the Toronto Morris Men and then later joined the Friends of Fiddler's Green in the early 1980s. He also occasionally performed in concerts with

Ian Robb Ian Robb is an English-born folk singer and songwriter, currently based in Ottawa, Ontario. He was a founding member of Friends of Fiddler's Green, and a columnist for ''Sing Out!'' He is also a member of the Canadian folk trio Finest Kind. He ...

. Parry released two solo albums: ''Wind That Tramps the World'' (1985) and ''The Man From Eldorado: Songs and Stories of Robert W. Service'' (1993). He was also heavily featured on the Friends of Fiddler's Green albums ''This Side of the Ocean'' (1981) and ''Road to Mandalay'' (1994). A posthumous album ''E Liked It All!'' (1995) was released when Parry died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 52. In addition to his work as a musician, Parry was on the staff of the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

where he was the director of the live interpretation program. He was also an adjunct faculty member of the drama department at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

where he led

Poculi Ludique Societas PLS, or Poculi Ludique Societas, the Medieval & Renaissance Players of Toronto, sponsors productions of early plays, from the beginnings of medieval drama (see mystery play) to as late as the middle of the seventeenth century. The group had its ori ...

, a

medieval drama Medieval theatre encompasses theatrical performance in the period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century and the beginning of the Renaissance in approximately the 15th century. The category of "medieval theatre" is vast, c ...

group.David Parry (1942-1995)-Ave atque vale, ''The Canadian Folk Music Bulletin'', 1995
/ref>

Discography

* The Wind That Tramps the World: Songs and Stories from Canada and the Old Country (1985) * The Man From Eldorado: Songs And Stories Of

Robert W. Service Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon". The middle name 'William' was in honour of a rich uncle. When that uncle neglected to provide for hi ...

(1993)

With
Friends of Fiddler's Green Friends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto founded in 1971 and still active as of 2018. The members of the group at the time of its first recording, 1981's ''This Side of the Ocean'', were Alistair Brown, Tam Kearne ...

* This Side Of The Ocean (1981) * The Road To Mandalay (1994) * 'E Liked it All!: David Parry In Concert With The Friends Of Fiddler's Green (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, David 1942 births 1995 deaths Canadian male stage actors Canadian theatre directors Canadian folk musicians Academic staff of the University of Toronto Male actors from London 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male musicians Parry family (Canada)

Discography

With Friends of Fiddler's Green Friends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto founded in 1971 and still active as of 2018. The members of the group at the time of its first recording, 1981's ''This Side of the Ocean'', were Alistair Brown, Tam Kearne ...

References

With
Friends of Fiddler's Green Friends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto founded in 1971 and still active as of 2018. The members of the group at the time of its first recording, 1981's ''This Side of the Ocean'', were Alistair Brown, Tam Kearne ...