Doreen Hume
Encyclopedia
Doreen Hume is a Canadian
soprano
soloist who performed in North America and Europe from the 1940s through to the 1970s.
, Ontario
, she was a student of John Blackburn in the Sault from 1945-53 and with George Lambert
at the Royal Conservatory of Music
in Toronto
. She was soloist from 1946 to 1953 at Grace Church on-the-Hill in Toronto.
She began a long association with the CBC
after winning an Opportunity Knocks award in 1948. At that time she sang in a 13-week series with the network and also sang in Gilbert and Sullivan
's comic opera
s with the CBC Light Opera Company. She was cast in CBC's North American
radio premiere of Peter Grimes on October 12, 1949 and also in the repeat broadcast in 1952.
As a concert soloist she appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
in various pops concerts between 1949 and 1959 and with the Toronto Medelssohn Choir in their 1950 performance of Beethoven's Missa solemnis
. She was also a soloist in Halifax
and Ottawa
performances of The Creation during this period.
In 1954 Hume moved to England, where she served from 1955 to 1970 as principal soprano soloist of the BBC Light Music department, giving over 1800 radio and TV performances under the direction of Robert Farnon
, Sidney Torch
, Carmen Dragon
, and others. She was the soprano soloist in a November 16, 1957 London performances of Fauré's Requiem and on January 4, 1958 she was a soloist in a performance of Handel's Messiah with Maureen Forrester
and Jon Vickers
. Both performances were conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent
.
Hume represented England at the Venice Festival of Light Music in 1957, toured in Europe in 1958 with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and represented Canada at a special liberation anniversary concert in May 1965 in Holland.
She recorded 10 albums of light music and musical comedy, beginning in 1958, for the Philips Fontana, Epic and Rondolette labels. Her show tune recordings are listed in Jack Raymond's Show Music on Record (New York 1982). She also sang the role of Kate in a recording of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard
(1958, 2-HMV ALP-1601-2/EMI EX-749594/EMI CDS7 47718-8).
In 1970 she returned to Toronto where she lived and worked for the next 20 years. In 1990 she returned to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
, where she was appointed to the faculty of Algoma University College
and also became a voice teacher at the Algoma Conservatory of Music.
In 2009, Hume was selected for induction into the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
soloist who performed in North America and Europe from the 1940s through to the 1970s.
Biography
Born Edith Doreen Hulme in Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, she was a student of John Blackburn in the Sault from 1945-53 and with George Lambert
George Lambert (baritone)
George James Lambert was an English baritone and voice teacher who was primarily active in Canada.Lambert was born in Long Preston. Following World War I, he studied singing in his native country with Frederic Lord while concurrently playing soccer professionally. He was highly active as an...
at the Royal Conservatory of Music
Royal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music is a music school and performance venue in Toronto, Canada. Other uses of the term include:*The Madrid Royal Conservatory, Spain*The Royal Academy of Music, London, United Kingdom...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. She was soloist from 1946 to 1953 at Grace Church on-the-Hill in Toronto.
She began a long association with the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
after winning an Opportunity Knocks award in 1948. At that time she sang in a 13-week series with the network and also sang in Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
s with the CBC Light Opera Company. She was cast in CBC's North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
radio premiere of Peter Grimes on October 12, 1949 and also in the repeat broadcast in 1952.
As a concert soloist she appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
in various pops concerts between 1949 and 1959 and with the Toronto Medelssohn Choir in their 1950 performance of Beethoven's Missa solemnis
Missa Solemnis
Missa Solemnis is Latin for solemn mass, and is a name which has been applied to a number of musical settings of the mass, especially particularly serious or large-scale ones.The following are notable examples:...
. She was also a soloist in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
performances of The Creation during this period.
In 1954 Hume moved to England, where she served from 1955 to 1970 as principal soprano soloist of the BBC Light Music department, giving over 1800 radio and TV performances under the direction of Robert Farnon
Robert Farnon
Robert Joseph Farnon was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a famous composer of original works , he was recognised as one of the finest arrangers of his generation...
, Sidney Torch
Sidney Torch
Sidney Torch MBE was a British pianist, cinema organist, conductor, orchestral arranger and a composer of light music.Born Sidney Torchinsky of a Ukrainian Father and an Estonian Mother in London, Torch learned the rudiments of music very quickly from his father, an orchestral trombonist...
, Carmen Dragon
Carmen Dragon
Carmen Dragon was an American conductor, composer, and arranger who in addition to live performances and recording, worked in radio, film, and television.Dragon was born in Antioch, California...
, and others. She was the soprano soloist in a November 16, 1957 London performances of Fauré's Requiem and on January 4, 1958 she was a soloist in a performance of Handel's Messiah with Maureen Forrester
Maureen Forrester
Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, was a Canadian operatic contralto.-Life and career:Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in a poor section of Montreal, Quebec. She was one of four children to Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmaker, and his Irish-born wife, the former May Arnold. She...
and Jon Vickers
Jon Vickers
Jonathan Stewart Vickers, CC , known professionally as Jon Vickers, is a retired Canadian heldentenor.Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto...
. Both performances were conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
.
Hume represented England at the Venice Festival of Light Music in 1957, toured in Europe in 1958 with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and represented Canada at a special liberation anniversary concert in May 1965 in Holland.
She recorded 10 albums of light music and musical comedy, beginning in 1958, for the Philips Fontana, Epic and Rondolette labels. Her show tune recordings are listed in Jack Raymond's Show Music on Record (New York 1982). She also sang the role of Kate in a recording of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
(1958, 2-HMV ALP-1601-2/EMI EX-749594/EMI CDS7 47718-8).
In 1970 she returned to Toronto where she lived and worked for the next 20 years. In 1990 she returned to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, where she was appointed to the faculty of Algoma University College
Algoma University College
Algoma University is a postsecondary institution in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, offering undergraduate university degrees in more than 30 academic programs...
and also became a voice teacher at the Algoma Conservatory of Music.
In 2009, Hume was selected for induction into the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame
Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame
The Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame is a series of markers located on Queen Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, adjacent to the Essar Centre sports arena...
.