John Grew

Grew, John

John (Morton) Grew. Organist, harpsichordist, teacher, b Glenholme, near Truro, NS, 30 Apr 1940; LTCL 1958, Associate piano, organ (Mount Allison) 1960, B MUS (Mount Allison) 1961, M MUS (Michigan) 1966, honorary DD (United Theological College) 1987, honorary LL D (Mount Allison) 1989. He received his musical education at the TCL, at Mount Allison University where he studied piano and organ, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. From 1966 to 1973, he was lecturer at several US and Canadian universities. He served as organist and choirmaster for various churches in New Brunswick and Ontario, and then at Queen Mary Road United Church, in Montreal. A professor at McGill University beginning in 1973, he was appointed dean of its Faculty of Music in 1991. A member of the RCCO and of the Association française pour la sauvegarde de l'orgue ancien, he also belongs to other organ-related associations or societies in Canada, France and the USA. In 1985 he founded and became artistic director of Musique Royale, an early music summer festival held on historic sites of the Atlantic Coast. Organizer of many forums on organ and early music, he was responsible, with Donald Mackey, for the large 1981 symposium 'The Organ in Our Time' that attracted some 400 participants from Europe, the USA, and Canada at Redpath Hall, McGill U; he wrote the epilogue of the symposium papers and proceedings published in Montreal in 1982.

Beginning in 1976, Grew organized numerous master classes by famous organists. In addition to his teaching, he has pursued a career as a recitalist, earning many distinctions, including a first Medal at the Geneva International Competition (1970), and the title of University Organist of McGill University (1985). He has performed in Canada, England, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia, and he has been heard on CBC radio. He has been a jury member for various competitions, notably in Boston and Nurenberg, Germany.