Malcolm Forsyth
Malcolm Forsyth, CM (December 8, 1936 – July 5, 2011) was a South African-Canadian composer, teacher, and trombonist.
Malcolm Forsyth

Rob McAlear (talk) · Own work (Original text: self-made) · Public domain
- Name
- Malcolm Forsyth
- Born
- 8 December 1936
- Birthplace
- Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
- Died
- 5 July 2011
- Place of death
- Edmonton, Alberta
- Occupation
- Composer, teacher, trombonist
- Nationality
- Canada
- Education
- University of Cape Town · South African College of Music
- Honours
- Member of the Order of Canada
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Malcolm Forsyth, CM (December 8, 1936 – July 5, 2011) was a South African-Canadian composer, teacher, and trombonist.
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Malcolm Forsyth (1936–2011) was a composer and conductor, of Canadian nationality. The composer was born in Pietermaritzburg and died in Edmonton. Malcolm Forsyth was educated at South African College of Music and University of Cape Town. Honours include Member of the Order of Canada.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Malcolm Forsyth • Born — 8 December 1936 • Birthplace — Pietermaritzburg, South Africa • Died — 5 July 2011 • Place of death — Edmonton, Alberta • Occupation — Composer, teacher, trombonist
Biography
Biography
• Illustration — Composers Allan Gilliland, Malcolm Forsyth, Allan Gordon Bell, John Estacio, and Jeff McCune following an Edmonton Symphony performance of their music in April 2005 Born in Pietermaritzburg, Forsyth attended Maritzburg College, South Africa. He studied trombone, conducting, and composition at the University of Cape Town where he received a Bachelor of Music in 1963. He played trombone with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra while studying for a Master of Music degree in 1966 and a doctorate in 1969. In 1968, he emigrated to Canada to join the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra where he played bass trombone, then principal trombone, for 11 years. He was a music professor at the University of Alberta for 34 years, including as composer-In-residence from 1996 until his retirement in 2002. His students included composers Allan Gilliland, Allan Gordon Bell, Jeff McCune, and Allan Bevan. In 1970, Forsyth wrote Sketches from Natal for the CBC. Some of his other works include Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1979), Sagittarius (1975), Quinquefid (1976), African Ode (Symphony no. 3) (1981), and Atayoskewin (Suite for Orchestra) (1984), which received the Juno Award for classical composition in 1987. He also received Junos in 1995 and 1998. In 1988, the Canadian Music Council named him Composer of the Year and, in 2003, he received the Order of Canada and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal. The Forsyth portrait in the Canadian Composers Portraits series was released in 2002. Forsyth died in Edmonton on July 5, 2011. His daughter is the cellist, Amanda Forsyth.
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Pietermaritzburg.
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Edmonton.
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reference work
- “Malcolm Forsyth”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4120894: Malcolm Forsyth
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These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.McMillan, Barclay. Malcolm Forsyth. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. 2011-07-05.
- 2.Brown, Michael. University Community mourns loss of Iconic Canadian Composer. University of Alberta. 2011-07-07.
- 3.Alberta Composers [research guide]. University of Calgary. Libraries & Cultural Resources.
- 4.Composer Malcolm Forsyth dies at 74. CBC. 2011-07-05.
- 5.Higham, Peter. Malcolm Forsyth [review]. CAML Review. 31. 1. 37-38. 2003.
- 6.Everett-Green, Robert. Malcolm Forsyth was one of Canada's most loved composers. Globe and Mail. 2011-08-03.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 7
- Curtis, Robert. Elements of Place in the Choral Works of Malcolm Forsyth. University of Alberta. 2015.
- University of Alberta Press. Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth. 2019.
- Kennedy, Michael. Forsyth, Malcolm. The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press. 312. 1994.
- Maunula, Kiirsi. Canadian Works for Horn by Michael Conway Baker, Malcolm Forsyth and Elizabeth Raum. Florida State University. 2016.
- McMillan, Barclay. Malcolm Forsyth. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. 2011-07-05.
- Primos, Kathy. A Life Experience: The Orchestral Works of Malcolm Forsyth. SoundNotes. SN6. 12-21. 1994.
- Rival, Robert C. Malcolm Forsyth’s Double Concerto: Forging a New Simplicity. Intersections: Canadian Journal of Music. 39. 2. 145-79. 2019. 10.7202/1091840ar.
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