Lloyd Bradshaw

Bradshaw, Lloyd

(John) Lloyd Bradshaw. Choral conductor and consultant, teacher, organist, adjudicator, b St Mary's, near Stratford, Ont, 21 Feb 1929, d Toronto 1 Apr 1994. He studied music in Stratford, in London, Ont, intermittently 1958-61 at the University of Toronto, and in 1965 with David Willcocks in Cambridge, England. He studied with a number of leading teachers including Healey Willan, Ernest MacMillan, and Elmer Iseler. A graduate (1948) of the Stratford Teachers' College, he taught, until 1963, in turn in rural Ontario, Stratford, and Toronto schools.

Bradshaw was a member 1954-60 and music director 1960-2 of the Festival Singers. He was editor 1959-62 of the OMEA journal The Recorder. As organist-choirmaster 1960-70 at St George's United Church he conducted several choirs, including the St George's Youth Choir, which toured in England (1964), Canada (1967, with appearances at Expo 67), and Europe (1970) including a command performance from the Papal office in the Vatican, prior to a recital in St Peter's, Rome. His St George's Boys Choir took part in the Toronto premiere (TSO under Heinz Unger 4 Feb 1964) of Mahler's Third Symphony. Bradshaw was supervisor of music and assistant co-ordinator of music education 1963-8 for North York (Toronto) schools. He edited school and church choral music for Gordon V. Thompson Ltd 1964-72. He was special lecturer in choral music 1968-73 at the University of Toronto, where he also conducted the university choir and was chorusmaster for the opera department. Concurrently he was chorusmaster of the COC and founding conductor of the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus. At a Massey Hall concert 19 Dec 1969 he conducted three St George's choirs, the university choir, and the opera chorus in a program of Christmas music. He prepared most of the choirs for TS performances while Seiji Ozawa was conductor. He was the founder in 1970 and director until 1973 of the Toronto Youth Choir, of which a part, the Sound Company, performed regularly in 1971 at Ontario Place. In 1975 he became music director at Trinity United Church, Toronto, and of the Orpheus Choir. He retained the latter position until 1980. After an Orpheus Choir concert he was praised by John Kraglund for 'a rare ability to get clarity of both musical line and texts from his singers' (Toronto Globe and Mail, 3 Jun 1976).

From 1981 until the 1990s, Bradshaw was organist and choirmaster at St Anne's Anglican Church, and at other Toronto-area churches. Bradshaw was consultant 1987-9 for music specials on the CBC TV program 'The Journal,' and in 1988 became chapel organist at the Royal St George's College in Toronto. He served as an executive member of the Royal School of Church Music, 1988-90. He continued active as a festival adjudicator, and as juror for the Toronto, Ontario, and Canada arts councils. Among the artists who Bradshaw tutored in his youth choirs were soprano Mary Lou Fallis, principal of the National Ballet School William Poole, composer Steven Gellman, and actor Sherri Flett. The University of Toronto offers the Lloyd Bradshaw Prize annually to a choral conducting student.