James Gayfer
James McDonald Gayfer (26 March 1916 – 7 April 1997) was a
Canadian bandmaster,
clarinetist,
composer,
conductor,
organist,
military officer, and
music educator. His compositional output encompasses several
orchestral works, including two
symphonies, numerous works for band and solo piano, a modest amount of
chamber music, and several
songs,
hymns, and
choral works. In 1944 his
string quartet won the CPRS award and in 1947 his ''Six Translations from the Chinese'' for
tenor and small orchestra won the
Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada competition. In 1953, he was appointed to the post of Director of Music of the
Band of the Canadian Guards, serving until 1961. From then on, he served as a musical training officers of the
Canadian Forces School of Music. In 1960 he wrote ''The Canadian Infantryman'', the official
march past of the
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps. Although Gayfer's works remain unpublished, some of them have been recorded by a number of artists, including
Howard Cable,
David Mills, and the
Edmonton Wind Ensemble. The
Band of the
Royal 22e Régiment continues to perform his works with some frequency. In 1983 he was awarded the
Service Medal of the Order of St John.
Provided by Wikipedia
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