{{short description|Canadian composer}} {{For|those of a similar name|Harry Summers (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Harry Somers | image = Harry Somers.JPG | alt = | caption = Somers in 1947 | image_size = | background = non_performing_personnel | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|09|11}} |birth_place =[[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada | death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|03|09|1925|09|11}} |death_place =Toronto, Ontario, Canada | origin = | instrument = | genre = | occupation = | years_active = | label = | website = | current_members = | past_members = }} '''Harry Stewart Somers''', [[Order of Canada|CC]] (September 11, 1925 – March 9, 1999) was a [[Contemporary classical music|contemporary]] [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[composer]].<ref name="Historica">{{cite web |date=November 11, 2011 |title=Harry Somers |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/harry-somers-emc/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212165426/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/harry-somers-emc/ |archive-date=2013-12-12 |access-date=2013-12-11 |website=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=H. Laine |first1=Mabel |last2=King |first2=Betty Nygaard |last3=Cherney |first3=Brian |last4=Beckwith |first4=John |date=November 20, 2011 |editor-last=Mcintosh |editor-first=Andrew |title=Harry Somers |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/harry-stewart-somers |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405201102/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/harry-stewart-somers |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |type=an article }}</ref>
Somers earned the unofficial title of "Darling of Canadian Composition."<ref>{{cite book |last=Harry Somers (Canadian Composers Portraits Series) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hcwoDAAAQBAJ&dq=Somers,+Harry.+2007&pg=PA259 |title=Opera Indigene: Re/presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures |date=January 1, 2006 |publisher=Centrediscs |isbn=9781317085423 |editor-last=Robinson |editor-first=Dylan |publication-date=May 13, 2016 |pages=259 |editor-last2=Karantonis |editor-first2=Pamela}}</ref> He was a founding member of the [[Canadian League of Composers]] (CLC) and involved in the formation of other Canadian music organizations, including the [[Canada Council for the Arts]] and the [[Canadian Music Centre]].<ref name="CLC">{{cite web |last= |title=History of the CLC |url=http://composition.org/clc-lcc/content/index.php/en/about-us/history-of-the-clc |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030195245/http://composition.org/clc-lcc/content/index.php/en/about-us/history-of-the-clc |archivedate=2013-10-30 |website=Canadian League of Composers}}</ref> He received commissions from the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] and the [[Canada Council]] for the Arts.<ref name="Historica" />
==Biography==
===Early life=== Somers was born in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada, on September 11, 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Automatisering |first=Roffel |title=Harry Somers: Biography - Classic Cat |url=https://www.classiccat.net/somers_h/biography.php |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405200745/https://www.classiccat.net/somers_h/biography.php |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=www.classiccat.net |language=en }}</ref> Somers did not become involved in formal musical study until he reached his teenage years in 1939 when he met a doctor and his wife—both pianists—who introduced him to classical works. Somers described this first encounter years later: "A spark was ignited, and he became obsessed with music. Almost from that instant, he knew music would be his life, for better or for worse."<ref name="Cherney 1975 6">{{cite book |last=Cherney |first=Brian |url=https://archive.org/details/harrysomers0000cher/page/6 |title=Harry Somers |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1975 |isbn=0-8020-5325-4 |location=Toronto, Ontario |page=[https://archive.org/details/harrysomers0000cher/page/6 6]}}</ref>
===Musical education=== Somers was 14 when he began his study of piano under the tutelage of Dorothy Hornfelt, the neighborhood piano teacher.<ref name="Cherney 1975 6"/> After two years with her, he was able to pass the Grade VIII examination at the [[The Royal Conservatory of Music|Toronto Conservatory]].<ref name="Cherney 1975 6"/>
In 1942, Somers began studying under [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reginald-godden-emc#:~:text=Reginald%20Godden.,D%20LITT%20(York)%201985. Reginald Godden] at the conservatory, whom he stayed with until 1943.<ref name="Historica"/> Godden later directed him to pursue formal studies under [[John Weinzweig]].<ref name="Cherney 1975 9">{{cite book|last=Cherney|first=Brian|title=Harry Somers|year=1975|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=0-8020-5325-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/harrysomers0000cher/page/9 9]|url=https://archive.org/details/harrysomers0000cher/page/9}}</ref> Weinzweig set up a program of traditional harmony study for him to study the 12-tone techniques. ([[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]] had enforced similarly strict lessons in traditional harmony upon his own pupils, even as he encouraged them to explore [[dodecaphony]].) Somers remained under Weinzweig's instruction until 1949.<ref name="Historica"/>
Somers took a sabbatical from his studies in 1943 to serve with the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="Historica" /> After WWII, Somers returned to the Royal Conservatory to continue his studies with Weinzweig with a new piano teacher, [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/weldon-kilburn-emc Weldon Kilburn]. During this time, Somers was writing and performing his own works.<ref name="Historica"/> Somers completed his studies at the conservatory in 1948 and then spent the summer in San Francisco studying piano under [[E. Robert Schmitz]].<ref name="Canadian Music Centre">{{cite web |last=Canadian Music Centre |title=Harry Somers: Biography |url=http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/37296/biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214041324/http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/37296/biography |archive-date=December 14, 2013 |access-date=December 11, 2013 }}</ref> His work was part of the music event in the [[Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics|art competition]] at the [[1948 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Harry Somers |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/902733 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916191833/https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/902733 |archive-date=September 16, 2021 |accessdate=21 August 2020 |work=Olympedia }}</ref>
In 1949, Somers started to focus on composition.<ref name="Historica"/> In 1949, he was awarded a $2000 Canadian Amateur Hockey Association scholarship to spend a year in [[Paris]] studying composition with [[Darius Milhaud]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Cherney |first=Brian |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000026175 |title=Somers, Harry |publisher=Grove Music Online |publication-date=20 January 2001 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Somers composed his suite for harp and orchestra in 1949.<ref>{{Citation |last=Poeschl-Edrich |first=Barbara |title=Lexington Symphony - Harry Somers, Suite for Harp and Chamber Orchestra.{{!}} |date=6 July 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjRr_ngJgHA |access-date=2024-01-11 |language=en |via=YouTube}}.</ref> In Paris, Somers heard the music of [[Pierre Boulez|Boulez]] and [[Olivier Messiaen|Messiaen]]; these composers would influence his later music.
===1950s and 1960s=== After his year with Darius Milhaud, Somers spent the 1950s devoted to composition. He earned his income as a music copyist.<ref name="Historica"/> He composed his Symphony No.1 in 1951.<ref>{{Citation |title=Harry Somers: Symphony No.1 (1951) |date=10 February 2018 |work=Symphony No.1 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoGp898HZZI |access-date=2024-01-11 |language=en |via=YouTube}}.</ref> In the 1950s, he improved his guitar skills.<ref name="Historica" /> In the 1960s, he earned money of his commissions.<ref name="Historica" /> He returned to Paris for more compositional studies with Canada Council for the Arts fellowship. While there, he concentrated on [[Gregorian chant]], particularly its revival by the [[Solesmes Abbey]].<ref name="Historica" /> In 1963, he became a member of the John Adaskin Project, which was an in-school initiative.<ref name="Historica" /> Also in 1963, Somers began his part-time career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation by hosting televised youth concerts.<ref name="Historica" />
Somers's first wife, Catherine Mackie, died in 1963.<ref name="Historica" />
In 1965, Somers began hosting the CBC radio series "Music of Today" and continued hosting it until 1969.<ref name="Historica" /> He also became the special consultant of the North York School in Toronto from 1968 to 1969.<ref name="Historica" /> In 1967, he remarried to the Canadian actress [[Barbara Chilcott]].<ref name="Historica" /> Also in 1967, he produced his best-known work, the opera ''[[Louis Riel (opera)|Louis Riel]]'', commissioned for Canada's Centennial Year celebrations.<ref>{{Citation |last=Turgeon |first=Bernard |title=Harry Somers: Louis Riel |date=1967 |work=Louis Riel |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFhejcGtzsI |access-date=2024-01-11 |language=en |via=YouTube}}.</ref> In 1969, he received an $18,000 grant from the Canadian Cultural Institute in Rome. He spent two years there, during which time he wrote ''[[VoicePlay|Voiceplay]]'' and ''Kyrie''.<ref name="Historica" />
=== 1970s – 1990s ===
In 1971, after he returned to Canada from his work in Rome, Somers was made a [[Companion of the Order of Canada]].<ref name="Canadian Music Centre"/> He was awarded three honorary doctorates: one from the [[University of Ottawa]] (1975), one from [[York University]] (1975), and one from the [[University of Toronto]] (1976).<ref name="Canadian Music Centre"/> In 1977, Somers made a visit to the [[USSR]]. While there, he gave lectures on Contemporary Canadian composition and spoke to other contemporary composers.<ref name="Historica" /> During the 1980s, Somers received commissions for the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Guelph Spring Festival, the S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition and the [[Canadian Opera Company]].<ref name="Historica" />
In the 1990s, he composed two operas, ''Serinette'' to a libretto by [[James Reaney]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=So |first=Joseph |date=June 9, 2001 |title=Serinette: Harry Somers' opera receives a rare revival |url=http://www.scena.org/columns/reviews/010609-js-serinette.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110233035/http://www.scena.org/columns/reviews/010609-js-serinette.html |archive-date=January 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=www.scena.org}}</ref> and ''Mario the Magician'', which was adapted from a story by [[Thomas Mann]].
Somers also completed his music ''Third Piano Concerto'' in 1996.<ref>{{Citation |last=Somers |first=Harry |title=Harry Somers: Third Piano Concerto. Jamie Parker pianist |date=1996 |work=Third Piano Concerto |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4n7aVc2rrY |access-date=2024-01-10 |language=en |via=YouTube}}.</ref> Somers gave the opening address at the Alberta Music Conference in 1993, wrote a choral piece for the 50th Anniversary of the [[United Nations]] in 1995, and served as the writer-in-residence for the first "Word and Music Festival" held at the University of Windsor in 1997.<ref name="Historica" /> Canada honoured him in 1995 with tribute concerts given by the University of Ottawa and the [[National Arts Centre]] for his 70th birthday.<ref name="Historica" />
Somers died on March 9, 1999, in Toronto, Ontario.<ref name="Historica"/>
''Between Composers'', a volume of correspondence between Somers and [[Norma Beecroft]] written in 1959-60 (they were in a romantic relationship at the time), was published in 2024.
==Styles==
Harry Somers had an eclectic approach. His music was performed in the US, Central and South Americas, Europe and the Soviet Union.<ref name="Historica"/> His works include techniques such as vocalization, vowel and breath sounds, and timbrel inflections.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cherney |first=Brian |date=1 December 1992 |title=Somers, Harry (opera) |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000002452?_start=1&pos=2&q=Harry%20Somers&search=quick |journal=Grove Music Online |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The styles that are said to have influenced Somers the most are the music of [[John Weinzweig|Weinzweig]], [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]] and [[Charles Ives|Ives]], [[Baroque music|Baroque]] [[counterpoint]], [[serial technique]] and [[Gregorian chant]].<ref name=":0" />
Under Weinzweig, during the 1940s, Somers received his first formal instruction in composition. Prior to that point, he composed mainly in the style of the piano works he was playing.<ref name="Cherney 1975 6" /> In 1950s, Somers focused on the use of fugue-related textures and techniques.<ref name=":0" /> Over half of the works written between 1950 and 1961 contain fugal movements. Some of his works feature "sharp, nervous, rhythmic vitality, which often serves as a foil for slower-moving subsidiary melodic lines."<ref name=":0" />
A 10-record set of Somers' music was included in the Anthology of Canadian Music series in 1980. The Somers' portrait in the Canadian Composers Portraits series was released in 2006.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bain |first=Jennifer |date=2006 |title=Harry Somers [review] |url=https://caml.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/caml/article/view/1319 |journal=CAML Review |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=33-35 |doi=10.25071/1708-6701.1319|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite encyclopedia |title=Harry Somers |encyclopedia=Dictionary of Contemporary Music |publisher=Dutton |location=New York, NY |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofcont0000vint/page/688/mode/2up |date=1974 |editor-last=Vinton |editor-first=John |pages=689–90 |author-last=Beckwith |author-first=John |url-access=registration}} * {{cite book |author-last = Cherney |author-first = Brian | date = 1975 |title = Harry Somers |publisher = University of Toronto Press | ISBN = 0-8020-5325-4 |series = Canadian Composers |volume = 1}} * {{cite encyclopedia |title = Somers, Harry |last = Cherney |first = Brian |editor-first = Stanley |editor-last = Sadie|encyclopedia = The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians |publisher = Macmillan |pages = 473-75 |date = 1995 |url = https://archive.org/details/newgrovedictiona0017unse_d4a8/page/472/mode/2up?q=harry+somers |url-access = registration}} *{{Cite book |title=Between Composers: The Letters of Norma Beecroft and Harry Somers |date=2024 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-2280-2274-9 |editor-last=Cherney |editor-first=Brian}} * {{cite book |title=Contemporary Canadian Composers |date=1975 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=MacMillan |editor-first=Keith |location=Toronto |pages=207-14 |chapter=Somers, Harry |editor-last2=Beckwith |editor-first2=John |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarycana00macm/page/206/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration}} * {{cite thesis |last = Renihan |first = Colleen L. |title = Sounding the Past: Canadian Opera as Historical Narrative |date = 2011 |type = Ph.D. thesis, Musicology |publisher = University of Toronto | url = https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/items/49ba40b2-3e7a-4e16-a397-37c7c5d8a418 }} *{{Cite book |last=Such |first=Peter |title=Soundprints: Contemporary Composers |date=1972 |location = Toronto |publisher=Clarke, Irwin |pages=30-53 |chapter=Harry Somers |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/soundprintsconte0000such/page/30/mode/2up}} *{{Cite thesis |author-last = Wolters |author-first = Benita |title = The Early Years of the Canadian League of Composers |publisher = University of British Columbia |type = M.A., Music |date = 1999 |url = https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0089204}} * Zinck, Andrew M. (1993). "Bridging the Gap: The Operas of Harry Somers." SoundNotes. SN4:14-24.
==External links== {{Archival records|title=Harry Somers fonds|location= Library and Archives Canada |inventory_number= R12599-0-6-E, MUS 15|description_URL=http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=210584&lang=eng }} * [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/harry-stewart-somers Harry Somers] ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]'' (includes a list of his compositions) * [https://collections.cmccanada.org/final/Portal/Composer-Showcase.aspx?component=AAIL&record=42dcbd35-1056-45bf-8073-236022e46afe Harry Somers.] [[Canadian Music Centre]] * {{discogs artist|Harry Somers}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Harry}} [[Category:1925 births]] [[Category:1999 deaths]] [[Category:Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Musicians from Toronto]] [[Category:Pupils of Darius Milhaud]] [[Category:Canadian opera composers]] [[Category:Concert band composers]] [[Category:Canadian male opera composers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian classical composers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian male composers]] [[Category:Art competitors at the 1948 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Companions of the Order of Canada]] [[Category:Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners]]