Barbara York

Barbara York née Spence (23 February 1949 – 6 November 2020) was a Canadian-American composer and pianist. She is noted for her many contributions to chamber and solo repertoire for low brass instruments like tuba, trombone, and euphonium. Biography Barbara York was born in Winnipeg to Edith (née Pitblado) and Howard Spence and was the youngest of their three children. She began taking piano lessons when she was around four years old, and then learned cello in middle and high school. She began composing original music as early as age seven. York attended McGill University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in music when she was twenty years old. After graduating, she worked at the Manitoba Theater School as a teacher, but soon after moved to Toronto. For the next ten or so years, York worked in theater, performing a variety of roles including arranging, directing, and composing. York asked Fischer if he would mind if she wrote a piece for him, and her very first work for tuba, Sea Dreams, was the result. Awards and Honors Barbara York (at the time Barbara Spence Potter) won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Score in 1981 for a production entitled Colette. A recordi