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Michael Conway Baker. Composer, teacher, b West Palm Beach, Fla, 13 Mar 1937, naturalized Canadian 1970; Associate (LCM) 1961, B MUS (British Columbia) 1966, MA (Western Washington State) 1972. Moving to Canada in 1958, he studied with Jean Coulthard and Elliot Weisgarber at the University of British Columbia, with Malcolm Arnold at the Shawnigan Summer School of the Arts (Johannesen International School of the Arts) in 1971 and 1972, and with Lennox Berkeley in England in 1975.
Teachers/EducatorsThough approaching composition from a contemporary perspective, Baker resisted both the avant-garde and the academic mainstream, choosing to sound his distinctive lyrical and highly expressive voice in the neoclassical and neoromantic idioms he found more congenial.
Baker's large output included music for the concert hall (125 works by 2003), stage, film, and TV (over 200 works). His later work for television ranged widely from music for competitive ballroom dancing (also known as dancesport), to scores for The Road to Avonlea. He also contributed music to numerous NFB films.
In 1991 the CBC released a compact disc devoted to his music (1988, CBC SMCD-5107), for which the composer received a Juno award. His music for the figure-skating ballet Cinderella: Frozen in Time is thought to have been the first original score for an ice show.
While establishing himself as a composer Baker taught (1972-ca 1989) in Vancouver elementary schools. Because of his interest in music education, he participated in various projects and wrote several works for the educational system including A New Way to Learn (1990), with lyrics by his wife, Penny-Anne Baker. It was used as the theme of a British Columbia government-sponsored video series introducing a new approach to music education. He was the Vancouver School Board's composer-in-residence, and held part-time teaching appointments in film composition at the University of British Columbia, Capilano College, and Simon Fraser University. He also served as adviser to the education committee of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, represented the Guild of Canadian Film Composers (1988-2000), and was on the SOCAN board of directors (1998). He was a member of the CLComp and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre. Baker was a recipient of the Order of BC (1997), and of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).
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