Giles Bryant

Bryant, Giles

Giles (Bradley) Bryant. Organist-choirmaster, tenor, editor, b Weybridge, Surrey, England, 20 Jun 1934; BA (University College, London) 1957, ARCO 1978, with the John Brook Prize, honorary D LITT S (Wycliffe, Toronto) 1988. After rising from boy chorister to assistant organist at St George's College in Weybridge Bryant served 1954-9 as cantor and assistant organist at St James' Spanish Place, London. He emigrated to Canada in 1959, settling in Toronto where he became assistant organist (and later was organist) at Grace Church on-the-Hill and was a member until 1970 of the Festival Singers. He served as organist-choirmaster at St Mary the Virgin Anglican Church and 1966-68 later at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church and in 1968 succeeded Healey Willan at St Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, assuming also the directorship of the St Mary Magdalene Singers. In 1968 he formed a male-voice ensemble, the Clerkes, who performed under his regular direction until 1975. He was music director of several CBC radio and TV dramas and in 1971 prepared a CBC radio documentary about the TS in honour of its 50th anniversary. He was organist 1965-75 at Massey College, and organist-choirmaster 1973-5 at Trinity College, both University of Toronto. He taught 1971-2 at York University and was music director 1972-5 at Upper Canada College. Returning to England in 1975, he was director of music 1975-8 at Cranborne Chase school, near Salisbury, and was a free-lance lecturer and broadcaster for the BBC.

He returned to Canada in September 1978 to be music director of the Festival Singers, and led them until they ceased operations in 1979. That year he assumed duties as became organist-choirmaster at St James Cathedral, Toronto, and founder-conductor of the Sine Nomine Singers. He joined the staff of Royal St George's College, Toronto in 1981. At the RCMT, he directed the Repertory Chorus and the Conservatory Singers 1986-9, and in 1990 continued to teach choral music at the RCMT Summer School. In 1987 he succeeded David Ouchterlony as executive director of the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto (see Kiwanis Festivals). He has also been active as an adjudicator and choral clinician, and in 1990 he became national president of the RCCO.

Bryant has edited six verse anthems published in the Massey College Series of Verse Anthems (Leeds 1967, 1968, 1969) and composed several liturgical works, including 'Advent Responsory and a Wedding Psalm' (Boosey & Hawkes 1971) and settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Waterloo 1968). His work, The Prophecies, has been recorded by the Oriana Singers (1984, HO 100). He edited the Catalogue of Canadian Choral Music (1966, 1970) for the Canadian Music Centre and the Healey Willan Catalogue (Ottawa 1972, supplement 1982) for the National Library of Canada. He has contributed articles to magazines, including the RCCO Newsletter and The American Organist Magazine, and to The New Grove Dictionary and EMC.