Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1931-1988, 2018 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
5 cm of textual records and other material
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Winifred Beatrice Preston (nee Shadlock) was a lifelong resident of Agincourt, Scarborough, Ontario, where she was born January 22, 1922 and died October 10, 1988. She attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto (1939-1940) and received her Associate Diploma (ARCT) in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1949. She later received her Associate diploma from the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) in 1983 and Choirmasters Certificate (CHM) from RCCO in 1984.
Winifred began her teaching career in North York in 1941 and was promoted to Supervisor of Music for North York Public Schools in 1945. She retired in 1955 before the birth of her first daughter, Susan, with her husband Howard G. Preston (married, 1949).
Throughout her life, she was involved with the music at Knox United Church in Agincourt, starting as the organist in 1942. She organized and directed the Junior Girls Choir, who sang at Sunday evening services (1955-1966), and was the choir director and organist from 1965 until her death in 1988.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated by Cheryl Preston (A2024-07).
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of papers relating to the life and career of Winifred Beatrice Preston (nee Shadlock, 1920-1988), an alumni of the Royal Conservatory of Music (1949). Papers include certificates from her education; programs from various musical events that she was involved with as an accompanist, organist, and choir director; documents from her time as a teacher with the North York Board of Education; and programs from her tenure as organist and choir director at Knox United Church, Agincourt.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
File arranged in chronological order.