Rathburn, Eldon, 1916-2008 : Born at Queenstown in rural New Brunswick, Eldon Rathburn showed talent as a pianist from an early age. As a freelance musician based in St John, Rathburn worked as a church organist, arranger, and pianist in dance bands. He was a member of Don Messer's New Brunswick Lumberjacks, with whom he toured the Maritimes and New England. Rathburn received his Licentiate in Music from McGill University in 1937, and his early activities as a composer were recognised in 1938 when he won the Canadian Performing Rights Society scholarship competition. During 1938-1939 Rathburn continued his studies at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, where his teachers included Healey Willan (composition) and Reginald Godden (piano). In 1944 his composition Symphonette won first prise in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Young Artist's Competition, and was subsequently performed by that orchestra. The competition's judges included the composer Arnold Schoenberg, who met with Rathburn and praised his work.
Rathburn joined the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as a staff composer in 1947, a position which he held until his retirement in 1976. During his long career at the NFB, Rathburn became known as the dean of Canadian film composers, with over 300 film scores to his credit. Among the films that he scored were the widely honoured educational film Universe (1960), the full-length drama Nobody Waved Good-bye (1964), and Labyrinth (an innovative multi-screen film created for Expo 67). Rathburn also scored independent films (e.g. Who Has Seen the Wind, 1977) and IMAX films (e.g., Transitions, for Expo 86 in Vancouver; Momentum, for Expo 92 in Seville). During 1972-1976 he taught film music composition at the University of Ottawa. Rathburn continued to compose concert music in his later career, and his works (e.g., Ottawa Suite) were sometimes presented at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. An ongoing interest that Rathburn explored, and which figured in his compositions, was the theme of music and forms of transportation, such as railways. Among Rathburn's honours and awards are: International Festival of Educational Films Best Music Award (Universe, 1962); Canadian Film Award for Best Music Score (Fields of Space, 1970); member of the Order of Canada, 1999; the City of Ottawa's Arts and Heritage Award, 2000. Two of his compositions for winds have been included in the series Canadian Musical Heritage. Another tribute was a 1995 NFB documentary about the composer, Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot ... He Scores.
