John Bach

Bach, John

John (Sebastian Peter) Bach. Teacher, performer, conductor, b Winnipeg 30 Jul 1908; LRAM 1930, ARCM 1931, ARAM 1943. He studied violin and viola privately 1916-28 with Philip Shadwick, winning an RAM scholarship to study violin, viola, and conducting 1928-32 in England and to attend summer courses in 1930 and 1931 in Leipzig and Paris. He was superintendent 1932-7 for Beresford's School of Music, Calgary. After teaching, playing in orchestras, and conducting 1937-47 in Australia, he was a teacher 1948-64 at the Mount Royal College Cons and its director 1964-74. He was president 1953-4 of the ARMTA. He played 1948-55 in the Calgary Symphony Orchestra and 1956-73 in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. For the latter his duties included the positions of principal violist 1956-63 and personnel manager 1962-6. He continued to serve as an extra player with the Calgary Philharmonic from 1974 until he retired in the early 1980s. He became vice-president of the Calgary Youth Orchestra in 1972 and retained that position in 1991. He claims descent from J.S. Bach through Bach's son, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and grandson, Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst (1759-1845).