The Halifax Years
1946 – 1947

On November 16 1945 the Royal Mail steamship Lochmonar departed from the English port of Liverpool, destination Halifax, Nova Scotia. The trip across the Atlantic took 11 days. On board were fourteen passengers – thirteen men and one woman – four of whom stated Canada as their “country of intended future permanent residence”. One of these four was George Brough, age 27 and listed as “teacher”.

George had answered an ad in an English paper for a music teacher at the Halifax Conservatory. Perhaps the same ad included the position of organist at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, for he also assumed that position – probably the youngest person to hold the position of Cathedral organist.

Though he didn’t stay in Halifax for very long, he was nevertheless fully engaged in musical activities during the time he lived there (late 1945 to mid 1947).

As an organist, his duties at the Cathedral included taking choir practices, playing for weddings and funerals etc., giving organ recitals (some at other churches).  He mentions a special broadcast of an organ recital he gave, as a prelude to a service for the visiting Archbishop of Canterbury:

“Special service for Archbishop preceded by choir practice & ¾ hour organ playing from me before service (broadcast over CJCH & CBH from 10:30 to 12:20). Packed Cathedral (admission by ticket only) & loud speaker for those on lawn outside. A magnificent service with some grand singing included Stanford’s Te Deum & Ireland’s Hymn ‘My song is love unknown.’”  {August 25 1946} 

As well, he gave a series of 13 organ recitals broadcast on Thursday nights on the CBC Maritime network (January to May 1946).

As teacher at the Halifax Conservatory, he not only taught piano but also acted as examiner (June 1946 and possibly 1947), and he served as an adjudicator for the now venerable Truro Music Festival in May 1946.

However it seems obvious that teaching was not his main interest, neither was the specialized role of Cathedral organist.  He wanted to play the piano more widely, and he wanted to use his considerable skills as an accompanist which included an uncommon ability to quickly make musical sense of any piece of music set before him, and a love of collaborating musically with others.

His diaries from this time are teeming with mentions of music he played, both solo and with others; several of these performances took place at Halifax’s Nova Scotian Hotel which obviously championed classical music and presented many concerts of various types. At the risk of boring the reader I include here some of the music he mentions, just to illustrate the musical richness of these days:

With the violinist Jean Fraser (a teacher at the Halifax Conservatory) he worked on and performed a series of sonatas and other chamber works, by Beethoven, Mozart, Franck, Ireland, Debussy, Prokofiev, Fauré, Schubert, Richard Strauss, Vivaldi, Bach, Brahms, Goossens, Copland, Elgar.

With the violinist Paul Collins (on holidays from studies at the Juilliard School of Music) he played Brahms D minor sonata, Mozart A major sonata No.17, Ireland A minor sonata, Elgar sonata, Beethoven sonatas in Eb, C minor and G major No.10, Delius sonata No.2 and part of Delius’ Violin Concerto, Franck sonata, Fauré A major sonata, Cyril Rootham sonata in G minor and Vivaldi sonata in D arr. Respighi.

Solo piano performances noted include a CBC broadcast of the Paradies Toccata in A, Scarlatti Minuet in Bb & Sonata in C, Rachmaninoff preludes in G major & G minor. Another recital also for CBC included pieces by Chopin: Waltz in Gb, Etude in Ab Op.25 No.1, Nocturne in F# major, Polonaise in Ab. And in a Conservatory orchestral concert he performed the first movement of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto.

“Last Ladies Music Club Concert of season. I play Franck Symphonic Variations, Schumann A minor Concerto (2^nd & 3^rd movements) & Darius Milhaud ‘Scaramouche’ {these with second piano accompaniment}. I on the $6000 Steinway rented from Eatons.”  {March 25 1947}

Singers came into his life, as his interest in the role of accompanist (nowadays we call it “collaborative pianist”) became increasingly apparent.  There are several mentions of his work with singers:

• Canadian baritone Leslie Holmes, with whom George went on a 7-concert tour of the Maritimes in February 1946. Holmes made his reputation as an oratorio and recital singer and concertized widely in Canada and in England. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca | VIDEO

• Latvian tenor Mariss Vetra, who had brought his family to Canada in 1947 to start a new life after suffering political hardship in his homeland and in Europe. He took up position as Head of the Voice Department at the Maritime Academy. George accompanied him in recital at the Nova Scotian and in a CBH broadcast as well as in informal performances mentioned in his diary. wikipedia.org | VIDEO

• Canadian soprano Elizabeth Benson Guy, with whom there were several collaborations beginning in January 1947 and continuing well into George’s life in Toronto, including radio broadcasts. He accompanied her on a 5-concert tour of Nova Scotia in May 1948. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca | VIDEO

• Canadian contralto Portia White, who gave two performances with George for Baccalaureate celebrations at Acadia University, Wolfville in May 1947. Their collaboration continued after George had moved to Toronto; other concerts took place in September and November 1947 and their work together culminated in a substantial tour of the Maritimes, early January till late April 1948.  thecanadianencyclopedia.ca | VIDEO | SPOTLIGHT

All in all, these were times of discovery for George – the young, eager musician getting his musical & social feet wet in Halifax, Dartmouth, Wolfville, and forming friendships that lasted, some throughout the rest of his days.

“Perfect weather, except for the disturbing presence of mosquitoes which spare no pains in sucking blood from every part of the anatomy covered or uncovered.”  {June 29 1947, on an outing with friends at Rawden NS}

It was not his fate to remain as Halifax Conservatory teacher or Cathedral organist, or even to remain in Halifax for very long (although he did return many times in the ensuing years, giving both piano and organ recitals and broadcasts, and visiting friends).

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SPOTLIGHT: SANROMÁ

SPOTLIGHT: PAUL WITTGENSTEIN

SPOTLIGHT: PORTIA WHITE