Fonds 30-006 - Steven Gellman fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Steven Gellman fonds

General material designation

  • Multiple media

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA ON0034 30-006

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

Physical description area

Physical description

159 cm of textual records (includes musical scores)
160 photographs
17 postcards
10 audio compact discs
4 computer disks
2 photographs : slides
2 drawings
1 audio cassette

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1947-)

Biographical history

Steven Gellman is a Canadian composer, pianist, and former professor of composition and theory at the University of Ottawa. Gellman was born in Toronto (1947) where he began studying piano and composition at an early age under the instruction of Dr. Samuel Dolin. He appeared frequently as a pianist and composer throughout his teens. At the age of 16, he appeared as a soloist with the CBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance of his own composition Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Gellman won the International BMI award in 1964, making him the first Canadian to be awarded the accolade.
Gellman studied at Juilliard in New York City under Vincent Persichetti, Luciano Berio and Roger Sessions from 1965 to 1968. He attended the Aspen Music Festival and School during the summers of 1965 and 1966 as a student of Darius Milhaud. In 1973, Gellman entered the Paris Conservatory where he studied with Olivier Messiaen from 1973 to 1976. During his time at the Conservatory, Gellman was awarded the Premier Prix. In 1970, Gellman’s piece Mythos for flute and string quartet won the UNESCO prize for the best work by a composer under the age of 25. In 1975, Gellman’s work Chori was premiered by the Toronto Symphony.
Gellman returned to Canada in 1976 and began teaching composition and theory at the University of Ottawa. He composed several pieces in the late 70s, notably Poème for Angela Hewitt; Wind Music, commissioned by the Canadian Brass; and Deux Tapisseries, commissioned by the French Government in honor of Olivier Messiaen’s 70th birthday in 1978.
Gellman received two commission from the Toronto Symphony in the 80s. The overture Awakening was premiered in 1983, and was featured during Toronto Symphony’s European tour of 1983. The second commission resulted in a five movement work for orchestra featuring the synthesizers of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble as soloists. The work was premiered in 1986, and was performed throughout Canada. Shortly after, Gellman received a commission from Jon Kimura Parker, which led to the composition Keyboard Triptych for Piano and Synthesizer. Gellman was named the Canada Council Composer of the Year in 1987.
Gellman became an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa in 1984 and was promoted to Full Professor in 1994. While teaching, Gellman continued to compose many works that have been performed throughout Canada and internationally, by ensembles such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Musica Camerata, Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), the Ottawa Symphony, and the Gryphon Trio. Gellman retired from his position at the University of Ottawa in 2011 as Professor Emeritus. His most recent work was completed in 2014.
Prior to his position at the University, Gellman travelled extensively throughout the world. In addition to his studies abroad, he spent time in places such as New Zealand, the Middle East, Greece, India, South Africa, Morocco, and Europe. In his early 20s, Gellman married Cheryl, a visual artist, with whom he had two children, Dana and Misha. Gellman remains a resident of Ottawa.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The Steven Gellman fonds consists of materials related to Gellman’s personal life and professional life as a composer and professor.
The fonds has been divided into 5 series.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

The records were officially transferred to the Archives in 2019 from the donor.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script note

Music notation symbols found in scores

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

The majority of the fonds is open and accessible, however, some files are restricted for a predetermined period of time in keeping with relevant privacy laws. Please ask ARCS staff for further information.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Permission from the donor is required for the use, reproduction, or publication of the material. Please ask ARCS staff for further information.

Finding aids

Generated finding aid

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

Further accruals are anticipated.

Alternative identifier(s)

Standard number area

Standard number

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Control area

Description record identifier

Institution identifier

Rules or conventions

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created by CH on April 15, 2019

Language of description

Script of description

Sources

Accession area

Related people and organizations

Related places

Related genres