Music at University of New Brunswick

Music at University of New Brunswick

University of New Brunswick. Founded in 1785 in Fredericton as the Academy of Arts and Science. It became the College of New Brunswick in 1800 (enrolment restricted to Anglicans) and King's College in 1828, the same year that it granted its first degrees. In 1854 King's College offered the first engineering course taught at a Canadian university. King's College became the non-denominational University of New Brunswick in 1859. A second campus was established in 1964 in Saint John. Graduate studies have been offered in several disciplines, including education with music options.

Although music is mainly an extracurricular activity at the University of New Brunswick, Arthur Trythall was appointed music director for the university in 1953, to organize amateur choral and instrumental groups. Douglas Start succeeded Trythall in 1961. With Start's retirement in 1978 the post was terminated. That same year Robert Charlton Bayley and Janis Kalnins, both musicians on the faculy of education, retired, and were replaced by Timothy Gene Cooper who continued in 1991 to provide music instruction while working in the community as a choral conductor.

In 1962, the university established a musician-in-residence program. Paul Helmer was pianist-in-residence 1962-4. In 1964 Joseph Pach, violin, and his wife, Arlene Nimmons Pach, piano were appointed, joined in 1970 by additional string players to form the Brunswick String Quartet, which became the university's quartet-in-residence. With its dissolution in 1989, the musician in-residence program began to be phased out, although violinist Paul Campbell remained until 1990-1, and the Pachs have continued into the 1991-2 academic year. The university has decided to reinstate the position of director of music, under the dean of arts in lieu of the residency program. Arlene Pach, assisted by the other musicians, established a non-credit course in music appreciation which has been replaced by credit courses in the faculties of Arts and Education. Non-credit music courses have been offered through the extension department.

Concert series by visiting performers have been presented by the university's Creative Arts Committee. A feature of each concert has been an open lecture about the music to be performed. In 1966 the Pachs established the annual summer University of New Brunswick Chamber Music and Jazz Festival. In 1976 the extensive library of David Thomson's Carriden Choir was presented to the Saint John campus library, which also houses the Spencer Collection (78 rpm), original manuscripts of New Brunswick-born composer Edward Betts Manning (see USA), and a record and tape lending department. The Archives of the Fredericton campus holds a collection of choral music. In 1984 the UNB Bicentennial Choir was formed, and has continued to be conducted by Steven Peacock.

The Saint John campus appointed Walter Bell music coordinator part time 1980-3 and full time 1983-5, after which the position was terminated. The Division of Humanities and Languages at the Saint John campus has continued to offer an introduction to music course. For the 1990-1 academic year the Saint John String Quartet (principals from the Saint John Symphony Orchestra), were resident musicians at the Saint John campus.

The University of New Brunswick has awarded honorary doctorates to Anne Murray (1978), Edith Butler (1986), and Rita MacNeil (1988).

See also College songs.