Born in 1936 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Forsyth majored in trombone, conducting and composition at the University of Cape Town and played trombone 8 years with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra (CTSO) while obtaining his Master's and subsequently Doctorate degrees. His career as a composer was launched when the CTSO performed Overture Erewhon (1962), and its success led to an invitation to write the Jubilee Overture for the orchestra’s 50th anniversary in 1964. In 1968 Forsyth emigrated to Canada and settled in Edmonton where he joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, playing bass trombone for 3 years and then Principal for 8. He also joined the music faculty at the University of Alberta teaching theory, composition and conducting, where he continues after being named Composer-in-Residence in 1996. Sketches from Natal, commissioned and broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1970, was Forsyth’s première contribution to Canadian music. This vibrant work for chamber orchestra is the first of many subsequent compositions which explore the tribal rhythms of his native country. Other works Forsyth produced during the seventies include the critically acclaimed Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1979), two symphonies, several works for brass and woodwind ensemble, as well as two concerti grossi written for the Canadian Brass, Sagittarius (1975) and Quinquefid (1976) During the 1980s, following a year of study in London, England, Forsyth was inspired to compose numerous symphonic and chamber works. From this period, two orchestral compositions in particular embody his unique style: African Ode (Symphony No. 3) (1981) depicts the stark contrasts and rhythmic vitality of his native land,and Atayoskewin (Suite for Orchestra), a powerful portrayal of Canada’s North, was hailed as “a masterpiece” at its premiere in 1984, and in 1987 it won the first JUNO for Best Classical Composition. The decade of the 1990s brought acclaimed works such as Electra Rising: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra, written for his daughter Amanda, and Evangeline. The latter, based on the poem by Henry Longfellow, tells the fictional account of the historic voyage of the Acadians expelled from Nova Scotia in 1755. He has gone on to win two more JUNO awards for Best Classical Composition (more than anyone else), in 1995 for Sketches from Natal, and in 1998 for Electra Rising. Forsyth’s works have been performed and broadcast throughout the world. He has received commissions for noted artists such as singers Maureen Forrester and Judith Forst, the Canadian Brass, Helmut Brass, Bläserensemble Mainz, the Montreal, Edmonton, Cape Town Symphony Orchestras and the Natal Philharmonic. His work has been extensively recorded including his complete works for solo cello and piano, performed by his daughter Amanda, currently principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and pianist Peter Longworth and a new disc by pianist/composer Heather Schmidt which includes the solo piano piece Je répondrais.... His latest work A Ballad of Canada, was premiered June 9 & 11, 2011 by the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Pinchas Zukerman and was repeated by the co-commissioning orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra under William Eddins, November 11,12, 2011. The premiere of A Ballad of Canada was very well received by the audience, and the performers. Malcolm received a long standing ovation at the end. Even though he was very weak from his fight with cancer, he was determined to be there, and along with the support of his wife, Valerie, he realized that goal. Unfortunately, he lost his battle with cancer on July 5, 2011 in Edmonton. A Memorial was held at Convocation Hall, University of Alberta on August 26, 2011, where his music was performed, friends shared their memories. The following poem was composed and read by his long time friend, the poet Carl Hare: MALCOLM Music was his breath He inhaled atmospheres around him exhaled landscapes across oceans bright with African and prairie sun white with blizzards dark with rattled gales Within his countries he discovered the ululations of winds snares’ thickets by percussion’s reverberating hills the sonorous blasts of brass against the deep bass throbbing throughout his sounding forests the dark-throated cello’s cry and the rustled sighing of the strings Rhythm nestled and surged in his blood crept nervously under the strings’ conversations skittered mischievously through their whisperings beat against the crowding words of choruses at home in dark foliage-hidden beats or with the calculated stresses of a distant century’s cavalier toying with his golden nymphs Word and meaning sang to him and he sang back lifting their two voices in the sentient air enveloping both in a vibrant stream of notes or teasing them with sly arrangement Sudden discoveries mark his terrain vistas open miraculously or wrench without warning in perilous curves and abrupt changes perspectives expand before us or fade and disappear logic and surprise teasing each other Challenges attracted and exhilarated him to collect for his own world the humble wheezing of an instrument animals in childish rhymes the vastness of a continent the glory of a daughter’s bow Humour tinged his utterance shone in his eye and his sharp ear his passions lay deep his enthusiasms rich and multifarious his teaching lucid and inspiring Complex himself and the routes he carved yet his maps remain precise and clear unfolding revelations to those who explore them and translate luminously to us as do his person and his music echo vivid in our memory Carl Hare August 14, 2011 ©Carl Hare 2011 To visit the composer's website: Click here |
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Malcolm (Dennis) Forsyth - Composer Information
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