Boyd McDonald

Boyd McDonald (born 28 September 1932) is a Canadian pianist, fortepianist, composer, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his compositional output includes works for choirs, bands, orchestras, and art songs. His works have been performed throughout Canada and Europe by ensembles like the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Renaissance Singers, the Scholars of London, Symphony Hamilton, the Waterloo Chamber Players, and the Wellington Winds among others.

Born in Tuberose, Saskatchewan, McDonald studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music where he earned an associate diploma in 1951 and a licentiate diploma in 1953. Among his teachers were Murray Adaskin (music composition) and Lyell Gustin (piano). A grant from the Canada Council enabled him to pursue further studies in Paris from 1957-1960 with Nadia Boulanger (composition) and Jean Casadesus (piano). He also studied composition in the summers with John Cage, Darius Milhaud, and Stefan Wolpe. In 1963 he won the Leschetizky Debut Prize which led to his New York City recital debut at Town Hall.

In 1966 McDonald formed a piano duo with Garth Beckett, and the pair continued to perform together up through the 1990s. The duo notably toured North America and Europe together on several occasions. They made their London debut at Wigmore Hall in 1972 and their New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 1978. The pair notably commissioned works by such composers as Bruce Mather, Robert Turner, Jack Behrens, and Owen Underhill. In 1967 both men joined the music faculty of the University of Manitoba where they studied the duo piano repertoire with Alma Brock-Smith while teaching. They left the UM in 1976 to join the faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU). At WLU McDonald was co-ordinator of the summer baroque and classical workshop in addition to teaching classes in piano and music theory. He continues to teach part-time at the WLU as a professor emeritus.

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