Gordon Arthur Delamont was a Canadian music educator, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, and trumpeter. He is best remembered for his work as an educator, having helped shape the talents of dozens of notable musicians in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. He also published several books on musical theory topics which have been used widely by schools in North America. As a writer he also contributed articles to Saturday Night

Saturday Night (magazine)

Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...

, The Canadian Music Journal, and several jazz magazines and newspapers in Canada. As a composer The Canadian Encyclopedia

The Canadian Encyclopedia

The Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...

describes him as "a guiding figure in Canada in the third-stream movement

Third stream

Third Stream is a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller, within a lecture at Brandeis University, to describe a musical genre which is a synthesis of classical music and jazz...

" His best-known work, Three Entertainments for Saxophone Quartet (premiered 1969, published by Kendor 1970), was recorded by the New York Saxophone Quartet and has been performed widely throughout North America and Europe.

Life

Born in Moose Jaw, Delamont was the son of bandmaster

Bandmaster

A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a military band, brass band or a marching band.-British Armed Forces:In the British Armed Forces, a Bandmaster is always a Warrant Officer Class 1 . A commissioned officer who leads a band is known as the Director of Music...

 and cornetist Arthur Delamont. He grew up in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 where he was a soloist with a boys' band that his father directed. His father provided him with his earliest musical training. In 1939 he moved to Toronto at the of 20 where he became principal trumpet of CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

's orchestra in that city and played lead trumpet in local dance band

Dance band

Dance band can be one of several kinds of musical ensemble:* British dance band* Dansband, a Swedish pop genre* A Eurodance band...

s. From 1945-1949 he led a dance band that was based at the Club Top Hat in Toronto.

In 1949 Delamont went to New York City to study arranging, composition, and pedagogy with Maury Deutsch

Maury Deutsch

Maury Deutsch is a musician who has played the trumpet from an early age. He is one of the most prolific and accomplished arranger-composers of his time, and in New York history. Deutsch was born and raised on the Lowest East Side of Manhattan, New York...

. He returned later that year to open his own private teaching studio in Toronto where he offered instruction in harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

, counterpoint

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

, composition, and music theory

Music theory

Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...

. He taught up until his death more than 30 years later. His notable pupils include Peter Appleyard

Peter Appleyard

Peter Appleyard, is a Canadian jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and composer of English birth. He has spent most of his life living and performing in the city of Toronto where for many years he was a highly popular performer in the city's nightclubs and hotels...

, Gustav Ciamaga

Gustav Ciamaga

Gustav Ciamaga was a Canadian composer, music educator, and writer. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers, he was best known for his compositions of electronic music, although he produced several non-electronic works. His compositions have been...

, Ron Collier

Ron Collier

Ron Collier, was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.Collier was born in Vancouver and attended Vancouver Tech. He studied music privately in Toronto with Gordon Delamont...

, Jimmy Dale

Jimmy Dale (musician)

Jimmy Dale is a Canadian arranger, composer, conductor, organist, and pianist of English birth. He was active as a music director for both Canadian and United States television during the 1970s and 1980s. He has also composed several film and television scores and written a number of tv theme...

, Hagood Hardy

Hagood Hardy

Hugh Hagood Hardy, CM was a Canadian composer, pianist, and vibraphonist. He is best known for the 1975 single, "The Homecoming", originally created as music to a 1972 TV commercial for Salada tea, and for his soundtrack to the Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea films.Born in Angola,...

, Herbie Helbig

Herbie Helbig

Herbie Helbig is a Canadian pianist, harpsichordist, and composer of German birth. He studied music composition and piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music with Samuel Dolin and privately in Toronto with Gordon Delamont. He is best known for his work as a concert pianist and film and television...

, Paul Hoffert

Paul Hoffert

Paul Matthew Hoffert, CM is a recording artist, performer, media music composer, author, academic, and corporate executive. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. He later studied music composition with Samuel Dolin and music theory with Gordon Delamont...

, Moe Koffman

Moe Koffman

Moe Koffman, OC was a Canadian jazz musician and composer. He played the flute, soprano, alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet...

, Rob McConnell

Rob McConnell

Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, was a Canadian jazz valve trombonist, composer, arranger, music educator, and recording artist.-Biography:...

, Ben McPeek

Ben McPeek

Benjamin Dewey McPeek was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist. In 1964 he established his own company, Ben McPeek Ltd., which promoted himself as a "jingle" writer for radio and television...

, Bernie Piltch, Fred Stone

Fred Stone (musician)

Fred Stone was a Canadian flugelhornist, trumpeter, pianist, composer, writer, and music educator...

, Norman Symonds

Norman Symonds

Norman Alec Symonds was a Canadian composer, clarinetist, and saxophonist. A leading figure in the third-stream movement in Canada, he composed several jazz works which employed classical forms.-Life and career:...

, Rick Wilkins

Rick Wilkins (musician)

Rick Herbert Richard Wilkins is a Canadian composer, conductor, and tenor saxophonist. He is primarily known for his work as an arranger. He has worked extensively for CBC and CTV arranging, rehearsing, and often conducting music for television and radio programs of pop-music and variety...

, Maribeth Solomon, amongst others.

Another student, Whitney Smith, produced a 90-minute radio documentary for CBC in 1979 entitled, "Gordon Delamont: Taking the Notes Where They Want to Go".

The Gordon Delamont collection is held in the Faculty of Music library, University of Toronto. The collection catalog will be available online from August 16, 2010.

Books

• Modern Arranging Techniques (Delavan, NY 1965)
• Modern Harmonic Techniques, 2 vols (Delavan, NY 1965)
• Modern Contrapuntal Techniques (Delavan, NY 1969)
• Modern Twelve-Tone Techniques (Delavan, NY 1973)
• Modern Melodic Techniques (Delavan, NY 1976)