Kenneth Peacock

Kenneth Howard Peacock (7 April 1922 – 22 November 2000) was a Canadian ethnomusicologist, composer, and pianist. He was a leading authority in Canadian enthnomusicology, and his research and publications in that field had a profound impact on the folk music revival in Canada of the mid to late 20th century. He was an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, a founding member of the , and a member of the Canadian League of Composers. In 1982 he was named a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 1998 was awarded the Marius Barbeau Medal by the .^[1]

Life and career[]

Born in Toronto, Peacock earned as associate diploma from the Toronto Conservatory of Music (TCM) in 1937 where he was a piano student of . From 1937-1946 he was active as a private tutor in piano and music theory in Toronto. In 1939-1940 he pursued further piano studies privately with . In 1941 he entered the University of Toronto where he studied music theory with Healey Willan and Leo Smith. After earning a Bachelor of Music in 1943, he continued with graduate studies in composition at the UT with John Weinzweig from 1944-1946.

Peacock returned to the TCM for further piano studies under in 1948-1949. In early 1950 he moved to Montreal to study the piano with . He moved to Boston the following autumn to study composition with Francis Judd Cooke at the New England Conservatory. From 1947-1954 he was active as teacher in Ottawa. He worked on the staff of the Canadian Museum of Civilization from 1951-1972 as an ethnomusicologist and research fellow. He wrote many articles for a variety of musical periodicals during his career, in addition to having work published through the Museum of Civilization. He was also active as a pianist in several Canadian cities.

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