death_date influences birth_date article_title name occupation
november 18 , 2009 healey willan august 7 , 1931 f. r. c. clarke
 frederick robert charles clarke canadian composer and musician
f. r. c. clarke

frederick robert charles clarke , known largely by his initials f. r. c. clarke -lrb- august 7 , 1931 -- november 18 , 2009 -rrb- was a canadian musician and composer who spent most of his musical career in kingston , ontario , canada .
clarke was born in vancouver in 1931 .
he earned his bachelor of music degree in 1951 , and his doctor of music degree in 1954 , both from the university of toronto .
among his teachers were george laughlin , eric rollinson , kenneth ross , healey willan , and s. drummond wolff .
he served as organist-choirmaster for several toronto-area churches during his time in the city .
from 1957 -- 58 , he conducted the st. catharines civic orchestra -lrb- now the niagara symphony orchestra -rrb- , before moving to kingston and taking up the role of organist-choirmaster at sydenham street united church , a role he served from 1958 until his retirement , after which he served as organist emeritus .
he began teaching music at queen 's university in 1964 , and was head of the music department -lrb- which became the school of music during his tenure -rrb- from 1981 -- 1991 .
clarke 's better-known compositions include `` bel and the dragon '' -lrb- 1954 -rrb- , `` sing a new song to the lord '' -lrb- 1960 -rrb- , `` psalm 145 '' -lrb- 1966 -rrb- , which won the 1967 cbc prize for choral music , `` festival te deum '' -lrb- 1972 -rrb- , and `` reginae '' -lrb- 1991 -rrb- .
his was commissioned to write `` saugeenia '' performed by the georgian bay symphony and the centennial singers in 1981 .
clarke also chaired the committee that produced `` the hymn book '' -lrb- 1971 -rrb- shared by the anglican church of canada and the united church of canada , contributing several hymn tunes -lrb- including concrete , sydenham street , causa divina , tradition , kingston , orbis terrarum and a blessing -rrb- and arrangements .
in 1982 , clarke published a biography of canadian composer healey willan .
clarke died of cancer at his home in kingston on november 18 , 2009 at the age of 78 .
