William Keith Rogers

Rogers, William Keith

Rogers, William Keith. Composer, b Charlottetown 16 Mar 1921; M MUS (Juilliard) 1948. Early success in competitions encouraged Rogers to enter the Juilliard School in 1939 where he studied piano with Arthur Newstead and composition with Vittorio Giannini, Bernard Wagenaar, and Frederick Jacobi. He taught piano and theory 1948-50 at the Hamilton Conservatory of Music (RHCM) and then became musical director of CFCY radio, Charlottetown, continuing his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in 1952 and 1954-5 and with Ernst Toch at Tanglewood in 1954. Rogers moved to Montreal in 1960 and later retired from music. Though his musical output is not large, it varies in style and form. His Coronation Tribute (commissioned by the CBC) is a well-made piece in the tradition of Elgar and Walton, the Sonatina for viola and piano is infused with neo-romantic warmth, and the dodecaphonic Six Short Preludes on a Tone Row for piano combine lyricism and stern craft.

Selected Compositions

Sonata. 1943. Vn, piano. Ms

Three Songs from Emily Dickinson. 1947. SATB. BMIC 1948. CBC SM-19 (Festival Singers)/(No. 1, 2) 1977, Audat WRC-276 (Music Summer School)

String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor. 1948. Ms

Sonatina. 1952. Va, piano. BMIC 1954. RCI 223/RCA CCS-1017 (Humphreys viola). 1968. CBC SM-78 (O. Green viola, Barkin piano)

Two Christmas Carols. 1952. SSAA. BMIC 1952

A Coronation Tribute. 1953. Full orch. Schirmer (Coronation March). (Coronation March) RCI 90 (R. Leduc conductor)

Six Short Preludes on a Tone Row. 1963. Pf. BMIC 1963. CBC SM-43 (Turini)/(No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6) CCM-1 (Cavalho)