Robert Turner (composer)
Robert Comrie Turner, was a Canadian composer, educator, and radio producer.
Biography
Born in Montreal, Turner graduated in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in music from McGill University, following studies with Douglas Clarke and Claude Champagne. While enrolled briefly at Colorado College in 1947, he met the percussionist, Sara Scott, whom he married in 1949. In 1947, Turner transferred to Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he studied with Roy Harris. He graduated in 1950 with a master's degree. During this period, Turner spent summers studying with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob at the Royal College of Music, then at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood with Olivier Messiaen. Returning to McGill in 1951, he graduated with a doctorate in 1953.From 1952-68, Turner worked as a CBC Radio producer in Vancouver, where he championed the music of Canadian composers and oversaw broadcasts of the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. He taught at the University of British Columbia, Acadia University, and at the University of Manitoba from 1969 until his retirement in 1985. His students included Peter Allen, Pat Carrabré, Jim Hiscott, Diana McIntosh, and Glenn Buhr.
Turner's music has been described as reflecting a variety of influences including jazz, folk music and dance. The composer himself described his music as lyrical and tonal; it also has been noted that Turner could integrate "contemporary techniques with a strong command of mood and evocation, especially of place." He wrote more than 70 works including two operas: The Brideship and Vile Shadows.
Turner was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2002.
The Turner portrait in the Canadian Composers Portraits series was released in 2004.
He received the Western Canadian Music Alliance's Heritage Award in 2009.
Robert Turner died in Winnipeg on January 26, 2012.
Selected works
;StageThe Brideship, Opera in 1 act, 3 scenes ; libretto by George WoodcockVile Shadows, Opera in 2 acts for soloists and wind quintet ; libretto after the play by Norman Newton;OrchestraOpening Night, Theatre Overture Lyric Interlude Nocturne ; original version for piano A Children's Overture ; suitable for youth and community orchestrasThe Pemberton Valley, Suite Symphony for Strings, string orchestra 3 Episodes Moerae Eidolons, 12 Images, chamber orchestra Variations on "The Prairie Settlers's Song" Symphony in One Movement "Gift from the Sea", Symphony No. 2 Playhouse Music Shades of Autumn Manitoba Memoir, string orchestra
- Symphony No. 3 House of Shadows, A Symphonic Synthesis after the Opera Vile Shadows Diverti-memento, chamber orchestra Festival Dance
;Concertante
- Concerto, 2 pianos, orchestra Chamber Concerto, bassoon, 17 instruments Capriccio Concertante, cello, piano, orchestra From a Different Country: Homage to Gabrieli, solo brass quintet, orchestra Encounters, soloists, orchestra
- Concerto, viola, orchestra A Group of Seven: Poems of Love and Nature by Canadian Poets, viola, narrator, orchestra
- String Quartet No. 1 Lament, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano
- String Quartet No. 2
- Sonata, violin, piano Little Suite for harp Vignette, clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello Variations and Toccata, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass Serenade for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon 4 Fragments, 2 trumpets, horn, 2 trombones Fantasia, organ, brass quintet, timpani Diversities, violin, bassoon, piano Transition, Trio: violin, cello, piano Fantasy and Festivity, harp Nostalgia, soprano saxophone, piano
- String Quartet No. 3 Lament for Linos, An Elegiac Triptych flute, clarinet, piano, prepared tape, slides ; words by Rainer Maria RilkeShadow Pieces, flute, bassoon, violin, cello, piano Bitonal Wedding, 3 Fanfares, 2 trumpets
;VocalEclogue: The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd, voice, oboe, harpsichord ; words by Sir Walter Raleigh4 Songs, tenor, orchestra The Phoenix and the Turtle, mezzo-soprano, flute, bass clarinet, clarinet, string trio, celesta, harp ; words by William ShakespeareSuite in Homage to Melville, soprano, alto, viola, piano ; words by Herman MelvilleFour Songs, voice, orchestra ; words from Friday's Child by Wilfred WatsonJohann's Gift to Christmas, narrator, orchestra Ebb Tide, Encounter V, voice, orchestra ; words by Marjorie PickthallTime for Three, 3 Songs, mezzo-soprano, viola, piano ; words by John Milton, Marjorie Pickthall and anonymousFour "Last Songs," voice, violin, piano ; words by Francis Ledwidge
;Choral2 Choral Pieces, mixed chorus ; words by Wallace Stevens and E. E. CummingsMobile for mixed, chorus, percussion ; words by Elder OlsonProphetic Song, female chorus a cappella ; words by Percy Bysshe ShelleyThe Third Day, Cantata, 2 sopranos, contralto, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra The House of Christmas, 4 Carols, mixed chorus ; words by G. K. Chesterton5 Canadian Folk Songs from the Maritimes and Newfoundland, soprano, mixed chorus 10 Canadian Folk Songs, voice, piano or voice, orchestra Amoroso Canto, mixed chorus a cappella ; words by Wallace Stevens, Paul Verlaine, Louis Dudek, Guillaume Apollinaire and Thomas HardyRiver of Time, mixed chorus, orchestra ; words by Matthew Arnold
;Television scoresObject Matrimony, Television play The Pemberton Valley, Documentary Yosef Drenters, Documentary