Song for a Wedding
In 1963, Peter Grant was asked by his brother, John Grant, to write a song to be performed at John’s wedding to Judith Skelton in Stratford. Peter enlisted Dennis Lee to write the lyrics and the song was performed at the wedding on September 27, 1963. It was sung by Joanne Chong.
The song was later published in Acta Victoriana, Volume 88, No.1 (1963). Here is a photocopy.
Sally-Go-Round
In 1962, while a student at Victoria College, University of Toronto, Peter Grant wrote the music for the Victoria College “Bob Revue”. That year, the revue was a full-fledged musical comedy entitled “Stillwater”, co-written with Randy Howard. As part of the show, Peter composed a song entitled “Sally-Go-Round”, written for soprano solo accompanied by harp. In 1964, while attending the Arrangers’ Workshop at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Peter rearranged the song for trombone solo with a full chamber orchestra. This recording of the song was performed by members of the Rochester Philharmonic, led by Rayburn Wright, at a concert in 1964.
What’s New?
In 1963, Peter Grant attended the Arrangers’ Workshop at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. While there, he wrote an arrangement of the Bob Haggart song, “What’s New”, for solo trumpet and a full chamber orchestra. This recording of the song was performed by members of the Rochester Philharmonic, led by Rayburn Wright, at a concert that year. “This was my first time writing for strings,” Peter recalled, “so my heart was in my mouth. However, the arrangement turned out very well, and I ended up with the top mark in the class.”
On Green Dolphin Street
In 1965, while in law school, Peter Grant wrote a number of arrangements for an unusual combination: vibes, guitar, bass and four flutes. He had met an all-girl flute quartet at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto that had been organized by Professor Ezra Schabas and which played classical music. Being enchanted by the sound of four flutes, he asked the girls if he could write some jazz charts for them. They were enthusiastic. So Peter wrote some charts of jazz standards for vibes, guitar, bass and four flutes. The arrangements were all performed at a concert at Hart House in March 1964. Peter played vibes, Nelles Van Loon played guitar and Dennis Jones was on bass. The flutists were Suzanne Shulman, Jadwiga Michalska-Bornyi, Virginia Markson and Ina Salonen.
This chart is of “On Green Dolphin Street”, the jazz standard by Bronislaw Kaper. For this piece, Peter wrote an introductory fugue, utilizing the classical skills of the four flutists. There is also some four-way voicing of the flutes that is evocative of Gil Evans. So enjoy!
There’s a Boat That’s Leaving
In 1965, while in law school, Peter Grant wrote a number of arrangements for an unusual combination: vibes, guitar, bass and four flutes. He had met an all-girl flute quartet at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto that had been organized by Professor Ezra Schabas and which played classical music. Being enchanted by the sound of four flutes, Peter asked the girls if he could write some jazz charts for them. They were enthusiastic. So he wrote some charts of jazz standards for vibes, guitar, bass and four flutes. The arrangements were all performed at a concert at Hart House in March 1964. Peter played vibes, Nelles Van Loon played guitar and Dennis Jones was on bass. The flutists were Suzanne Shulman, Jadwiga Michalska-Bornyi, Virginia Markson and Ina Salonen.
This chart is of “There’s A Boat That’s Leaving”, from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. Enjoy!
The Fugal God Save the Queen
When Peter Grant became involved in writing music for college musicals in the 1960s, the practice in those days was to open the performance with “God Save The Queen”. For a change of pace, Peter decided to write an innovative version with a fugal background on the piano. This recording is from a performance at the Hart House theatre in 1962. There has never been a version of “God Save The Queen” like this!