Beecroft, Norma (Marian)

Beecroft, Norma (Marian), Canadian composer; b. Oshawa, Ontario, April 11, 1934. She studied piano with Gordon Hallett and Weldon Kilburn at the Royal Cons, of Music of Toronto (1952–58), during which period she also studied composition with Wein-zweig; following composition training from Copland and Foss at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summer 1958), she went to Rome to continue studies with Petrassi at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia (1959–62); she also attended Maderna’s classes in Darmstadt (summers 1960–61), and then Schaeffer’s electronic music classes at the Univ. of Toronto (1962–63) before working with Davidovsky at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center (1964). She was active as a producer, host, and commentator for the CBC. With Robert Aitken, she founded the New Music Concerts in Toronto in 1971, which she oversaw until 1989. In her music, Beecroft has followed along modernistic paths. In a number of her works, she has effectively utilized 12–tone techniques and electronics.