Phyllis Gummer

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 (see on the right).

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.

Phyllis Gummer Archive

In my possession is the main musical estate of Phyllis Gummer. In the finding aid below I provide information about the documents in the archive.

Below you can find some of the music of Phyllis Gummer. Feel free to study the music.

Scherzo for clarinet and piano (1939)

Romance for clarinet and piano (1939)

Romance No.2 for clarinet and piano (1939)

Romance for violin and piano

Allegro for violin and piano (1940)

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

Requiescat, for voice and piano (1937)

Suite for string trio (1942)

The journey, for voice and piano (1938)

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: