Eldon Davis Rathburn (21 April 1916 – 31 August 2008) was a Canadian film composer who scored over 250 films during his thirty-year tenure as a staff composer at the National Film Board of Canada. Known as "the dean of Canadian film composers","'Dean of Canadian film composers' dies at 92"
''CBC News'', Sep 02, 2008 Rathburn composed music for documentaries, short films, as well as such feature films as ''

Drylanders ''Drylanders'' is a 1962 Canadian western (genre), Western film directed by Don Haldane and Written by M. Charles Cohen and starring Frances Hyland and James B. Douglas. It was the National Film Board of Canada's first English-language feature fi ...

'' (1963), ''

Nobody Waved Good-bye ''Nobody Waved Good-bye'' is a 1964 National Film Board of Canada production directed by Don Owen, starring Peter Kastner, Julie Biggs and Claude Rae. A sequel, '' Unfinished Business'', was released in 1984. Plot In Toronto, Ontario, Peter is ...

'' (1964), ''

Waiting for Caroline ''Waiting for Caroline'' is a 1967 Canadian drama film directed by Ron Kelly (filmmaker), Ron Kelly and starring Alexandra Stewart, François Tassé, and William Needles.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 233 ...

'' (1969), ''

Cold Journey Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynam ...

'' (1975), and ''

Who Has Seen the Wind Who Has Seen the Wind may refer to: * ''Who Has Seen the Wind'' (novel), 1947 novel by Canadian author W. O. Mitchell *'' Who Has Seen the Wind?'', American TV production directed by George Sidney; produced by the United Nations * "Who Has Seen the ...

'' (1977). Rathburn was the subject of a 1995 NFB documentary by Louis Hone titled ''Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot... He Scores''.

Early life and education

Rathburn was born in the community of Queenstown, in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada. As a child he learned to play the piano. Rathburn attended Saint John High School,"Dean of Canadian composers' got his start in Saint John"
by Mike Mullen - September 12, 2008, ''Telegraph-Journal'' and received a Licentiate of Music from McGill University in 1937. The following year, he won the Canadian Performing Rights Society Scholarship Competition, and began performing on the piano for local dance bands and radio broadcasts, including with

Don Messer Donald Charles Frederick Messer (May 9, 1909 – March 26, 1973) was a Canadian musician, band leader, radio broadcaster, and defining icon of folk music during the 1960s. His CBC Television series '' Don Messer’s Jubilee'' (1959–69) feature ...

. In 1945 he received a Young Artist Award for composition from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. His winning composition, "Symphonette," was performed by the L.A. Philharmonic under the baton of Alfred Wallenstein on 23 March 1945. In L.A. he studied with Arnold Schoenberg, who had chaired the Young Artist Award adjudication committee. From 1938-39, he studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and pia ...

(composition), Reginald Godden (piano), Charles Peaker (organ), and Leo Smith (harmony).

Career

Rathburn began working at the National Film Board in 1947. Among the 250 films he scored was the 1977 adaptation of W.O. Mitchell's ''Who Has Seen the Wind''. He also provided the music for the NFB's Labyrinth installation at Expo 67. He composed music for a number of early

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

films. After his retirement from the NFB in 1976, Rathburn continued to compose; his work was featured at the

Ottawa Chamber Music Festival The Ottawa Chamberfest summer festival is a music festival held by Ottawa Chamberfest, also known as Chamberfest, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This year's edition will be held between July 25 and August 8, 2019. Artists In 1994, the idea of ...

. On April 14, 1999, he was invested as a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

. A book on his life and work, authored by James Wright (Carleton University), was published by the McGill-Queens Press in 2019. Rathburn died in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

on 31 August 2008.Charles Enman
" 'Dean' of film composers spent 30 years at NFB"
''Ottawa Citizen'', Sep 3, 2008

References

External links

*
Eldon Rathburn
in the ''Encyclopedia of Music in Canada''
Eldon Rathburn
at the Order of Canada website
''Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot... He Scores'', NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathburn, Eldon Canadian film score composers Male film score composers 1916 births 2008 deaths People from Queens County, New Brunswick National Film Board of Canada people 20th-century Canadian composers Musicians from New Brunswick Members of the Order of Canada The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni McGill University School of Music alumni 20th-century Canadian male musicians Burials at Notre-Dame Cemetery (Ottawa)