John McTaggart

McTaggart, John

McTaggart, John. Composer, teacher, organist, conductor, b Liverpool, of Scottish parents, ca 1873, d Selkirk, Man, 15 Jul 1953; ARCM, LRAM, LTCL. His teachers included Sir Charles Stanford (composition) and Alberto Visetti (voice) in London. He taught at a conservatory in Sutton, Surrey, then moved to Scotland, where he was organist-choirmaster for several churches and a conductor of choral groups, light opera societies, and orchestras. The year of his arrival in Canada was probably 1930, and it is known that he conducted a choir in Winnipeg for a touring English production of Merrie England ca 1932. In Winnipeg McTaggart taught voice at the Bornoff School, then acquired a studio at the Shinn Conservatory. He also lectured at St John's College on public speaking. He conducted choirs for the Winnipeg radio stations CKY and CBW, and the CBC's Zephyr Strings, and was choir director at several churches including Grace Church United. At the request of the city's musicians' union he conducted a 65-piece symphony orchestra for a year and a half in an attempt to establish such an organization permanently. He moved to Selkirk, northeast of Winnipeg, in 1952, but continued to teach twice weekly in Winnipeg. McTaggart's compositions, listed in the Catalogue of Canadian Composers, include a Christmas cantata, A Ruler in Israel (Curwen); an operetta for school use, Peridot and Mirami; choral pieces published by Beal, Stuttard, by Curwen, and by Paterson; piano pieces for students; and songs.