Gordon Fleming

Fleming, Gordon

Gordon (Charles James) Fleming. Organist, pianist, composer, arranger, b Goderich, Ont, 27 May 1903, d Windsor, Ont, 30 Apr 1959. Much of his early life was spent in Galt (renamed Cambridge), Ont. He started his music studies in 1916 and began playing professionally in 1918 in theatres and churches, in concert, and on radio, in both Canada and the USA. He studied piano with Paul de Marky in London, Ont, and with Alberto Guerrero in Toronto and piano and composition with Mischa Kottler in Detroit. He moved to Windsor in 1929 and in 1932 started working as staff organist for the radio station CKLW in that city. He also wrote arrangements for Detroit radio stations. He composed music for the CBC (including Len Peterson's series of radio portraits Men at Work in 1947), the NFB, and other Canadian film producers. Some of his symphonic pieces were played by the Detroit SO and the Chicago Philharmonic. His works for orchestra include a Symphony, a Piano Concerto, and Louis des Jardins and the Devil. He also wrote a Nocturne for piano, another for organ, an Allegro for string quartet, and a Communion Service and Two Motets for choir. He should not be confused with the jazz accordionist Gordie Fleming.