Welford Russell was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 who is particularly remembered for his output of choral works

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

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Born in Neepawa, Manitoba

Neepawa, Manitoba

Neepawa is a town in Manitoba, Canada located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5. its population was 3,298. Neepawa was incorporated as a town in 1883. It is located in the Rural Municipality of Langford and bordered to the north by the Rural Municipality of Rosedale....

, Russell made a living as a surgeon

Surgeon

In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

 and was notably a medical missionary in India from 1925-1941. He pursued musical activities in his spare time. He studied the organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

 in Ireland and pursued studies in music composition with Godfrey Ridout

Godfrey Ridout

Godfrey Ridout was a Canadian composer, conductor, music educator, and writer. He contributed articles to numerous Canadian music publications, notably serving as the assistant editor of both Canadian Music and Canadian Review of Music and Art...

 and singing with Weldon Kilburn at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. He published a Stabat mater and eight individual choral pieces, of which his part-song Who Is at My Window Who? has been widely performed. The song was also recorded by the Festival Singers of Canada

Festival Singers of Canada

The Festival Singers of Canada was a professional choir located in Toronto, Canada from 1954-1979. Founded in 1954 by Elmer Iseler as the Festival Singers of Toronto, the choir was heard first heard on CBC radio in a 1955 Good Friday broadcast of Bach's Christ lag in Todesbanden...

. He also produced a number of anthem

Anthem

The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...

s and motet

Motet

In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...

s which remain unpublished. He wrote a number of art songs, two of which, The Conqueror and Farewell to Arms, were premiered by bass

Bass (voice type)

A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

 David Mills

David Mills (bass)

David Mills is a Canadian bass, poet, composer and actor. Retired now, he had an active international singing career that spanned more than five decades. He has published two books of poetry, Isobelle, a Novel in Verse and The Social Comedy...

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