Material Type

Mixed Media

Date Range

1947-1995

Physical Condition

Excellent

History Biographical

Anne Adamson Cowie was born on 16 June 1912, one of two daughters of John and Thomasina Cowie. Mr. and Mrs. Cowie were immigrants from Scotland, who married there in 1910 and soon after came to Canada. The Cowies settled in Sutherland, Saskatchewan, now a part of the city of Saskatoon. Both Anne and her sister were born in Sutherland.

The family attended St. Paul’s United Church in Sutherland, where Anne’s musical career began. She sang in the church choir under the direction of Earla Miller, and started singing lessons in Saskatoon at age eight. At 14 years old, Anne was conducting the St. Paul’s Junior Choir. Anne began piano lessons with Mrs. Beverage in Sutherland, and later studied with Lyle Gustin of Saskatoon and Dr. Ernest Vinci of Toronto. Mr. Gustin sent Anne to take several music courses at St. Andrews College, University of Saskatchewan. She earned an A.C.R.T. (Associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music) from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, as well as an A. Mus (Associate in Music) and L. Mus (Licenciate in Music) in piano. After she was married, Anne attended choral workshops at the Banff School of Fine Arts where she worked with Filmer Hubble, founder of the “Winnipeg Singers”.

Anne met her husband Don Campbell at dances in Sutherland and at St. Paul’s United Church. They were married at Westminster United Church in Saskatoon in 1939. Shortly after their marriage, the Campbells moved to Calgary so that Don could take a job as a travelling salesman with Marshall Wells Hardware. Their sons Mac (born 1943) and Stewart (born 1947) were both born in Calgary. Between 1947 and 1953 the Campbell family moved to Picture Butte, Alberta where Don managed the Hyde and Sundal hardware store. Don eventually bought the store, renamed it Campbell Hardware, and operated it for 31.5 years. Don Campbell died on 25 November 1968.

Anne conducted the United Church choir in Picture Butte, and also began to sing with the Senior Choir of Southminster United Church in Lethbridge. She came to Lethbridge every Tuesday night for rehearsals. In 1953 the Campbells moved to Lethbridge.

After she moved to Lethbridge, Anne was asked by Dr. McTavish of the Board of Southminster United Church to form a Junior Girls Choir. She did, and although the choir was affiliated with Southminster United Church, Anne accepted singers from all over southern Alberta. The Junior Girls Choir sang once a month in the church, and also performed many operettas in the Southminster Church hall. As the singers in the Junior Girls Choir grew up, the need arose for a choir for young women of high school age. Anne formed the Teen Clefs in 1964. The Teen Clefs were a chamber choir of 20 members and formed the core of the choir that sang at Expo ’67 in Montreal, and the Anne Campbell Singers who were established in 1968 and competed in England and Wales the same year. The “Linnet Singers” were eventually formed from graduates of all of these choirs. Anne also formed a “Mini Choir” for six to eight year old girls.

Anne Campbell’s choirs have travelled and competed in North America, Europe and Asia. Their “Singing Tree” concert was a staple of the Christmas season in Lethbridge and southern Alberta for many years. The choir members learned to sing in English, Japanese, French, German and Dutch. They performed almost every kind of music available for choirs: madrigals, folk songs, motets, sacred music and show tunes. The only type of music Anne avoided was jazz, from personal preference. The choirs have recorded 14 albums in total, and were recorded by both the CBC and CKUA Radio. The choirs have won 14 major Canadian awards, and several international awards as well.

Anne Campbell received a total of 12 awards for her service to music and to the communities in which she has lived. Among the most prominent are Member of the Order of Canada in 1977, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1978, and an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Lethbridge in 1983.

Anne Campbell gradually finished her career in choral music in the early 1990s. In 1999, she moved to Cochrane, Alberta to be closer to her son Stewart.

Language

English

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of a wide variety of items: manuscripts, correspondence, tape recordings, compact discs, posters, photographs and photograph albums. Almost all of the fonds pertains to Anne Campbell's work in choral music. A few items pertain to her family.

Notes

Supplied source: Content of the fonds

Access Restrictions

Public Access

Accession No.

20001028000

Collection

Archive

Less detail