Norma Beecroft facts for kids

Norma Marian Beecroft, born on April 11, 1934, is a talented Canadian composer. She is also known as a producer, broadcaster, and arts administrator. She has won awards for her music, like the Lynch-Staunton Award for composition, twice!

Norma Beecroft has created music for many famous groups. These include the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the National Ballet of Canada. She is a special member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community. In 1988, she gave her original music and recordings to the University of Calgary library.

Early Life and Learning

Norma Beecroft was born in Oshawa, Canada. Her father, Julian Beecroft, was a musician and inventor. He helped create early electronic tape. Her mother, Eleanor Beecroft, was an actress.

Norma learned music from her parents. Both of them had a lot of musical training. Her father wanted to be a concert pianist. But he lost three fingers in an accident. This stopped his piano career. Norma's parents divorced when she was 13.

In 1950, Norma started private piano lessons. She then joined The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCMT) in 1952. She studied piano and music theory there until 1958. Her teachers included John Weinzweig for composition. In 1958, she studied composition with famous composers Aaron Copland and Lukas Foss.

In 1959, Norma went to Rome, Italy. She studied composition with Goffredo Petrassi. She also learned to play the flute there. She attended lectures in Germany and England in 1960 and 1961. In 1962, she returned to Canada. She studied electronic music at the University of Toronto. Later, in 1964, she worked with Mario Davidovsky in New York City.

Music Career

Norma Beecroft started her career at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). From 1954 to 1957, she helped with TV music shows. She also worked as a music consultant and program organizer for radio.

From 1966 to 1969, she produced radio shows for CBC Radio. She also hosted Music of Today. She continued to host this show in the 1970s.

Electronic Music Pioneer

Norma Beecroft was one of the first professional electronic music composers. From 1967 to 1976, she worked at the Electronic Music Studio. This studio was at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music. She was one of the first people outside of students to use this new studio. She used multitrack recording to extend sounds.

Radio Documentaries

In the 1970s, Norma Beecroft produced many radio documentaries. She made shows for CBC Radio about Canadian composers. These included Jean Coulthard and Harry Freedman. She also created documentaries for CJRT-FM.

In 1975, she created 13 broadcast records called Music Canada. These records featured Canadian music. In 1976, she won an award for her documentary The Computer in Music. Later, she created electronic music for plays. These included William Shakespeare's Macbeth (1982) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1983). These plays were performed at the Stratford Festival.

New Music Concerts

In 1971, Norma Beecroft helped start New Music Concerts (NMC). She co-founded it with composer Robert Aitken. The NMC helped new music be performed. It also helped musicians learn modern playing styles. Norma was the president of NMC until 1989.

From 1984 to 1987, she taught at York University. She taught classes in electronic music and composition. She has also been a guest lecturer there and at the University of Montreal.