The digitization of this finding aid was made possible - in part or entirely - through the Canadian Culture Online Program of Canadian Heritage, the National Archives of Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives.
| Fonds/Collection Number: | F0492 |
| Title: | Peggie Sampson fonds |
| Dates: | [ca. 1914]-2004 |
| Extent: | 1.07 m of textual records 156 photographs : b&w and col. ; 28 x 35 cm or smaller 11 photographs : b&w negatives ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller 19 audio cassettes 7 audio reels 2 prints |
| Biographical Sketch/ Administrative History: | Peggie (Margaret) Sampson, musician and teacher, was born on 16 February 1912 in Edinburgh, Scotland, daughter of astronomer Ralph Sampson and Ida Binney. Growing up in Edinburgh, Sampson began her study of the cello at the age of eight, studying with Ruth Waddell and later in London and Portugal with Guilhermina Suggia. In 1929, Sampson enrolled at the University of Edinburgh and took classes with Donald Francis Tovey. During the summers, she travelled to Paris to study under Diran Alexanian at the Normale de Musique and privately with Nadia Boulanger. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1932. During the 1930s, Sampson performed in England and Holland, and she served as Tovey's teaching assistant between 1937 and 1944. Sampson studied under Pablo Casals in the 1940s and performed with the Carter Trio while also performing as a freelance cellist in recitals throughout England. In 1951, Sampson relocated to Canada to take a teaching position at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, where she taught music theory, history and cello. She also taught cello to private students. Sampson continued to be an active performer as a soloist as well as a member of the Corydon Trio and the University Chamber Music Group. By 1960, Sampson began to perform on the viola da gamba, and she spent a year earning her doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, studying performance and the teaching of music to young children. In 1963, she formed the Manitoba University Consort with Christine Mather. The group played in Canada at Expo '67, at the opening of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and toured in Europe. By the time the Consort disbanded in 1970, Sampson was performing exclusively on the viola da gamba. Sampson left Winnipeg in 1970 to teach theory and viola da gamba at York University in Toronto and became a prominent viola da gambist during the 1970s, performing throughout Canada and in Europe. Most notably, she performed solos in Bach's "Passions", appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival, and premiered works by Bernard Naylor ("On hearing Mrs. Arabella Hunt singing", 1970), Murray Adaskin ("Two pieces", 1972), David Rosenboom ("The seduction of Sapientia", 1975) and Rudolf Komorous ("At your memory the transparent tears fall like molten lead", 1976), which were commissioned by Sampson to expand the modern repertoire for the viola da gamba. At the University of Toronto during this period, she performed with the Hart House Consort of Viols, and she taught at the University of Victoria's summer school between 1973 and 1975. Sampson formed the Quatre en Concert with Christine Harvey, Michael Purves-Smith and Deryck Aird, and they performed across Canada and in Holland between 1976 and 1978. After retiring from full-time teaching at York University in 1977, she taught part-time at Wilfrid Laurier University until 1984. Sampson was awarded with the Canadian Music Council medal in 1985, an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1987, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from York University in 1988. Peggie Sampson died on 17 May 2004. |
| Scope and Content: |
Fonds consists of personal diaries, teaching notes and writing, performance and family memorabilia, diplomas, correspondence, sheet music, photographs and audio recordings pertaining to the personal life and professional career of Peggie Sampson, including her early activities as a music student, her work as a professor of music, and her performances on the cello and viola da gamba. These records also document her associations with early teachers Guilhermina Suggia, Donald Francis Tovey, Nadia Boulanger and Pablo Casals, as well as her work with the Manitoba University Consort during the 1960s and the Quatre en Concert in the 1970s. The personal diaries in the fonds span Sampson's time in Edinburgh and London during World War II to her immigration to Canada in 1951 to teach at the University of Manitoba and her employment at York University from 1970 to 1977. |
| Custodial History: | Accession 2005-048 was compiled from two locations. Peggie Sampson's early correspondence and some photographs were transferred by Dr. Christine Mather of Elora, Ontario, in December 2004. The majority of the donation was transferred by the donor from the house that she shared with Peggie Sampson until Sampson's death on 17 May 2004. The donor is the beneficiary of Sampson's estate. The diaries donated in accession 2013-001 were added to the fonds by Juliette del Junco's caregivers in 2013. |
| Restrictions on Access and Use: | Diaries in accession 2013-001 are closed until 2029 unless written permission is obtained from the University Archivist. |
| Finding Aid: | File lists provided. |
| URL of Finding Aid: | http://archivesfa.library.yorku.ca/fonds/ON00370-f0000492.pdf |
| Accruals: | The fonds comprises the following accessions: 2005-048, 2013-001, 2013-023. No further accruals are expected. |
| 2005-048 2013-001 2013-023 |
|
| Immediate source of acquisition: | Accessions 2005-048 and 2013-001 donated by Juliette del Junco in 2013. Accession 2013-023 transferred to this institution from the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto in 2013. |
| Provenance Access Points: | Sampson, Peggie, 1912-2004 |
|
Date of creation: 2013/01/25 Date of last revision: 2013/07/03 |
|