Dorothy Bee

BEE, Dorothy Williamina  (1910-1986)
Musician, Administrator

Dorothy Williamina Bee was born on November 1, 1910 in Lemberg Saskatchewan and moved to Regina at a young age.  Dorothy played a string bass for the Regina Symphony Orchestra from 1943 to 1971, she also played and taught piano, was an author, editor and co-editor of material used to advance the teaching of music for the Western Board of Music.  She introduced over 1000 new pieces as Head of the Piano Syllabus Committee from 1968 to1974.

Bee studied with William M. Buckley (1928-1936) and Lyell Gustin (1936), Master classes were taken with Rosalyn Tureck in 1940.  Between 1944 and 1948 Dorothy studied with Max Pirani, Victor Babin for a year in 1960 and Andre Previn in 1970 and 1971. 

Bee began as a faculty member at the Conservatory of Music in 1946 and began teaching at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus in 1949.  Very active in the area of music in Saskatchewan, Bee was an adjudicator and consultant for the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, and an examiner for the Western Board of Music and Mount Royal College in Calgary.  She co- authored, with Gordon Wallis, three volumes of studies for the piano which were especially designed to help students with specific technical problems. 

From 1955 to 1957 Dorothy was president of the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers Association (SRMTA), and Vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Association (CFMTA).  In 1976 Dorothy was editor-in-chief of 8 graded volumes of piano repertoire.

Dorothy Bee retired in 1979 and died in 1986.

Written by Elizabeth Seitz, 2015

Archival Collections (Finding Aids in PDF format)

86-75 - Professional and Private Papers, 1896-1951