Read Morley Calvert's biography »
Morley Calvert (1928-1991) was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and received his musical education in the Salvation Army and at McGill University. He graduated from McGill with a Bachelor of Music in 1956.
Calvert had a multi-faceted career. From 1950-72 he taught high school in Montreal, where he developed a highly respected band program at Westmount High School. In 1972 he moved to Barrie Central Collegiate and remained there until his retirement in 1985. Concurrent with his high school teaching, he founded the Monteregian Music Camp in 1958, the McGill Concert Band in 1960, the Lakeshore Concert Band in 1967, served as the conductor of the Imperial Singers of Montreal (1954-56) and the Montreal Citadel Band of the Salvation Army (1960-70). While a resident of Barrie, he conducted the King Edward Choir. After his retirement, Calvert moved to Hamilton, Ontario, and continued his involvement with community groups, as well as teaching at Mohawk College. He was artistic director of the Hamilton Civic Concert Choir in 1987, and assumed a similar role with the Weston Silver Band in 1988.
Calvert was constantly active as a composer. Many of his works were written for the brass bands of the Salvation Army; however, a number of them have assumed important places in the worldwide brass band literature. His brass quintet, Suite from the Monteregian Hills, was commissioned by the Montreal Brass Quintet in 1961 and has become essential repertoire for brass quintets. It has been recorded many times. Introduction, Elegy and Caprice was commissioned in 1978 as the test piece for the first European Brass Band Championships, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, and remains among the most challenging works in that medium. A Song for Our Time, for band and choir, was performed at the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa in 1984.
His abrupt death in 1991 silenced a vital voice in the Canadian music scene.
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