Margaret Parsons

Parsons, Margaret
Margaret (Elizabeth) Parsons. Pianist, teacher, b Hanna, northeast of Calgary, 26 Oct 1914, d Toronto 17 Jul 1991; LRSM 1927, LAB 1929, ATCM 1931, LTCM 1932. She came to Toronto in 1931 to study at the TCM (RCMT) on scholarship with Norman Wilks and, later, with Mona Bates. During the war years she played with the Bates Ten-Piano Ensemble. Parsons and her husband, Clifford Poole, formed the Parsons-Poole Duo and gave their first recital in 1952. They toured extensively throughout Canada and the USA 1954-65, performing at Hart House, University of Toronto (winter 1954), with the TSO 12 Mar 1954, and for the Women's Musical Club of Toronto in the autumn of 1955, as well as on CBC radio. In 1964 for Capitol Records they made the LP Parsons-Poole Piano Duo (Capitol 6088).

Parsons taught at the TCM/RCMT 1933-48 and 1965-82, at the University of Western Ontario 1948-58, and at the University of Toronto 1965-91. A noted pedagogy teacher, she composed and compiled children's piano music for the conservatory's graded examination books (Harris 1949-62) and with her husband produced the Parsons-Poole Festival Series for Piano Solo (Harris) and the Parsons-Poole Duo Piano Series (Harris). Among her pupils were David Johnston, Leon Major, William McCauley, Marjan Mozetich, Peter C. Simon, and Dianne Werner.