The post-WWII era saw the relocation of the Faculty from the Workman Mansion to the Shaughnessy House at 40 Drummond Street and is characterized by a significant reorganization.
In the first half of the 20th century, the Faculty was following the British model of music education, emphasizing the mastery of historical repertoire. This was about to change radically. Marvin Duchow, Alexander Brott, Helmut Blume, and István Anhált all shared a passion for the new and embraced the vision of “performance, composition, radio, opera, and school music as a Canadian-made solution designed to fit the needs of the community and carry the reputation of the university into the future as a leader”.[i]
Marvin Duchow became the acting Dean of the Faculty and Director of the Conservatorium in 1955, while the departments of Theory, Keyboard and Voice, and Instrumental Music were created. The McGill Opera Studio was founded in 1956 by Luciano and Edith Della Pergola.
Faculty of Music performances were now heard in the newly repurposed Redpath Hall, following the expansion of the Redpath Library.
[i] Stubley, Eleanor Victoria. 2008. Compositional Crossroads: Music, McGill, Montréal. Page 11. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.