Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1945-1997 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
1.9 m of textual records + 73 audio reels + 3 audio cassettes (20 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Talivaldis Kenins, a composer and teacher, was born in Liepaja, Latvia on April 23, 1919. He received a Bachelier des lettres from the College de Menton and Lycee de Grenoble in France in 1939, before studying composition at the State Conservatory in Riga with Joseph Wihtol. During the second Soviet occupation of Latvia following World War Two, he returned to France, and entered the Conservatoire National Superieur de Paris in 1945, where he studied with Simone Plé-Caussade, Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen, among others. There, he received the Perilhou, Gouy d'Arcy and Halphen music prizes, and graduated in 1950 with the Grand Prix Laureate in composition.
Kenins emigrated to Canada in 1951, where he was the organist and music directory at St. Andrews Latvian Lutheran Church in Toronto. In 1952, he joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, where he taught composition and contrapuntal techniques until his retirement in 1984. Kenins composed chamber music, eight symphonies, twelve concertos, three cantatas, an oratorio, several choral works, and various educational pieces. His awards and honours include: the Champollion Silver Medal (Grenoble), Officer of the National Three-Star Order of the Republic of Latvia, and Honourary Professor by the Music Academy of Latvia.
Kenins passed away in Toronto on January 20, 2008.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Materials acquired from Talivaldis Kenins (1990, November 1994).
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of manuscript scores, compositional sketches, correspondence, programs, and teaching materials, related to Kenins's career as a composer and professor at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
The Talivaldis Kenins fonds is stored offsite at Downsview. To access this collection, please contact the Music Library at least 2 weeks in advance of your visit.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Previously titled "Archives Collection 12: Talivaldis Kenins." Reference code (12) removed from the title of the collection July 30, 2019.
Note
Files originally identified using box number, file number, and "rbsc" (Rare Book and Special Collections) numbers. These identifies are included under "Description identifier," but only the file number has been maintained as the identifier. For box-specific locations of each file, please see the PDF finding aid.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Dates of creation revision deletion
Revised August 20, 2019. File-level descriptions imported from DB Text August 20, 2019.