I hold the main part of the musical documents of composer Phyllis Gummer (1919-2005) and would like to present here her compositions. If someone is interested in performing one of these works, please send me a message!

biography

Phyllis Mary Gummer was born on 12. March 1919 in Kingston, Ontario (Canada). Phyllis first studied at the Queen's University in Kingston under Frank Llewellyn Harrison. During her studies at the Queen's University she received in 1940 the first prize with her "Piano sonata" and the song "Requiescat" of the Canadian Performing Rights Society (CAPAC) in their annual composition competition for Canadian composer under 22.

After her Bachelor of Arts at the Queen's University she studied composition under Healy Willan and violin under Harold Sumberg at the Toronto Conservatory and received a Bachelor of Music. During her time at the Toronto Conservatory she was in a circle of friends with composers like John Weinzweig, Barbara Pentland, Godfrey Ridout, Leonard Basham and Eldon Rathburn.

At that time she also performed at various local concerts and played violin, but also piano, viola and organ. In 1942 she won a 3.year-fellowship in composition at the Juilliard Graduate School of Music in New York.

The juvenile compositions of Phyllis Gummer received high appraisal and attention in the early 1940s. Beside the CPRS prize in 1940 her works were performed at several national concerts. An article in the alumni journal of the Queen's University published the following article (Vol. 16, No. 4, page 105) which shows the appraial or her compositions:

In 1944 Phyllis Gummer was a staff member of the National Firm Board of Canada and part of a group of composers with again Eldon Rathburn, Robert Fleming and Louis Applebaum. She wrote music for several films at that time.

Curiously there is no information about the work and life of Phyllis Gummer after 1945. In my archive there are a few scores of compositions from the 1950s and 60s, so Phyllis Gummer was active in these decades too, but it seems that she made her living with something else than music in her later years.

I received information from the Queen's University archive that Phyllis Gummer died in 2005, but I found no evidence for that.

archive

All scores in my archive are handwritten manuscripts. Only a few of them are fair copies, most of them are working scores, sketches, etc. Manuscripts for the following compositions are in my archive:

piano works:

duo works:

trio works:

quartet works:

songs for voice and piano:

choral works:

motets:

Below you can find some of the music of Phyllis Gummer set into a scorewriting program. Feel free to study the music. But please have in mind that looking at the music does not allow you to perform the work without paying fees to the Canadian Author's Rights Society (SOCAN). It is also forbidden to publish or sell this score or parts neither in printed or electronical format.

I tried to find the actual copyright holders of the music of Phyllis Gummer, but failed. If you are a copyright holder of the music below and feel this violates your rights, please let me know. It is no problem to remove the scores, I just want to support the compositions of Phyllis Gummer the best I can.

Phyllis Gummer: Romance for violin and piano

Phyllis Gummer: Allegro for violin and piano (1940)

Phyllis Gummer: [Untitled], for viola and piano (~1940)

Phyllis Gummer: Requiescat, for voice and piano (1937)

Phyllis Gummer: Piano sonata (1937)

In 2019 the distinguished Canadian pianist Elaine Keillor performed the Piano sonata by Phyllis Gummer at different occasions. Ms. Keillor recorded one of her private study performances and kindly granted her permission to publish the recording on my website. Therefore I am very happy to allow interested persons to listen to the Piano sonata by Phyllis Gummer below, performed by Elaine Keillor:

Phyllis Gummer: Suite for string trio (1942)

Phyllis Gummer: The journey, for voice and piano (1938)