John Arpin

John Francis Oscar Arpin (3 December 1936 – 8 November, 2007) [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=330f07f0-beb3-4a0f-ae29-70173376582a] was a Canadian composer, recording artist and entertainer, best known for his work as a virtuoso ragtime pianist.

Born in Port McNicoll, Ontario, Arpin was educated at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), graduating at the age of sixteen, and the University of Toronto.

Arpin performed and toured widely. He died in Toronto, Ontario.

Recording career

Arpin has recorded more than sixty albums, mostly of ragtime, but also plays Broadway music, pop music, and classical music.

Performances

Arpin has performed as a solo entertainer and with orchestras throughout the world. In Canada, he has performed with artists like Maureen Forrester and Peter Appleyard.

Awards

Arpin has been nominated three times for Juno Awards, given to show excellence in Canadian music.In June, 1998, he won the Scott Joplin Award from the Scott Joplin Foundation of Sedalia, Missouri.

Critical acclaim

Ragtime great Eubie Blake pronounced John Arpin "the Chopin of Ragtime", while The New York Times labeled him "the Richter of Ragtime". "High Fidelity" magazine said of one of his albums: "This is the best recorded collection of piano rags that I know of and is, I suspect, the most authentically performed."

Compositions

Notable among his own compositions are "Jogging Along" (a theme song for the acclaimed CBC radio program "Morningside"). He also composed the theme for TVOntario's children's shows, Polka Dot Door and Polka Dot Shorts and writes the music for the shows.Arpin also composed the themes for several CTV network shows in the 1960s.His "Lyric Suite for Piano, Strings and Percussion" won first prize out of 450 entrants in the Yamaha Second International Original Concert in Tokyo.he also arranged music for several Canadian recording acts.

In 2005, he was commissioned by St. Michael's Choir School (Toronto) to compose and arrange a "medley" of Christmas tunes which he titled "Yuletide on the Cool Side". It was very warmly received in its premiere on a concert tour across Canada.

References

* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000116 Canadian Encyclopedia entry]
* [http://www.johnarpin.com Arpin's personal web site]
* [http://johnandmaryjane.blogspot.com/ JohnAndMaryJane.blogspot Blog maintained by Arpin's wife]