Kenneth Campbell (musician)

Kenneth Campbell (February 10, 1922 - May 19, 1982) was a Canadian composer of Classical and Jazz music.

Early life

Kenneth Campbell was born in 1922, in the town of Port Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay). His career began in the early 1940s, as he performed in dance music bands located in Toronto, New York City,^[2] and Florida. One of his first major jobs was to arrange the music for the radio programming of the Pickens Sisters during the 1940s. He relocated to Ottawa in 1949,^[3] where he received the bulk of his success. During World War II, Campbell was a clarinetist and arranger in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Band.^[1]

Career

Before he took over his own bands, Campbell played with musicians such as Ellis McLintock and Bert Niosi in Toronto, and Max Horner in Gatineau. In addition to composing and arranging, his main instruments were the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet. Following this, Campbell joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, which tasked him with using his musical skill to compose and arrange for the air force's musical band. Campbell composed and arranged music for institutions including the National Arts Centre,^[1][2][4] the Canadian Red Cross,^[5] the Stratford Festival,^[6] the Ottawa Press Club,^[7] the Central Band of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the NORAD band, the National Film Board (NFB), the Canadian Broadcasting Company, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and several short and feature films.^[8] These included the CBC documentary Canada at War.^[4]

Artists Campbell arranged for included Paul Anka, Tony Bennett, and Rich Little, whose first album Stars on Broadway featured Campbell as the composer.^[4] Campbell remained Rich Little's conductor through the late 1960s.^[9] Campbell also led his own band, the Kenneth Campbell Orchestra,^[10] a 16-piece dance band.^[1] He performed at venues including Canada's Parliament Hill, where he led the music for Canada Day (including the 1967 Centennial) celebrations, as well as international venues like Carnegie Hall.^[1][8] In 1967 his Kenneth Campbell Orchestra performed during the celebrations for the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup championships.^[11] CBC television shows for which Campbell composed included Two's Company,^[12] and NFB films he scored included Blades and Brass (1966) and Flight in White (1968).^[1] He spent some time in the UK during the 1970s, before returning the Canada.^[1]

Compositions

In addition to his media and entertainment industry work, Campbell's personal compositions include Puppet Parade, River by Night,^[1] Waltz in Blue,^[3] Can-Can for Trumpets,^[13] World Tour,^[14] Fairy Tale, and Capital City Suite, which was his first to reach public acclaim. Capital City Suite was first played in 1953 by the Royal Canadian Air Force Central Band, in the years before Campbell became the band's conductor (he held the rank of Sergeant at the time). The piece was composed of four movements. The first movement is "Government House", described by Carl Weisenberger upon its premiere as a "slow and stately march". The second, "Canal by Night" (named for the Rideau Canal that winds down beside the Parliament in Ottawa), was described as "a quiet, flowing, tuneful, romantic piece". The third movement, "Parliament Hill" was described as a loud fast march. The fourth, "Confusion Square", invokes Jazz influences, which Weisenberger wrote "seems to show musically that an Ottawan in Ottawa may be as bewildered as an American in Paris".^[2] In addition to big band compositions, Campbell also composed jazz music, which was performed by bands including those of CBC Television.^[15]

Death

Campbell died in Ottawa on May 19, 1982.^[1]

References