Sheila Henig

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Sheila Henig
Born(1934-02-19)February 19, 1934
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DiedMay 15, 1979(1979-05-15) (aged 45)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupations
  • Pianist
  • Soprano
SpouseWilliam Sidney
Children2

Sheila Henig (February 19, 1934 – May 15, 1979) was a Canadian pianist and soprano. She performed as a soloist with the Halifax, Toronto and CBC Symphony Orchestras as well as the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Henig toured Canada as well as some European nations. She also appeared in concerts broadcast on radio and television by the CBC and was a panelist on the CBC Radio program Music and Opinion in 1973. A posthumous biography on Henig authored by her father and the freelance writer Madeline Thompson was published in 1982.

Biography[edit]

On February 19, 1934,[1] Henig was born in Winnipeg.[2] She was the daughter of Harry Henig and his wife.[3] Henig was able to sing and dance by the age of two,[2] performing in English and doing aerobics, tap dance and toe dance at a high level.[3][4] In April 1938, she ventured to Los Angeles for an extended visit so she could audition.[3][4] There, Eddie Cantor recommended Henig not be pushed but be allowed to develop further before making public presentations. She took on his advice and attended dancing and vocal lessons and made occasional appearances in Winnipeg. By the age of 11, Henig had decided she wanted to become either a grand opera singer or a pianist.[2] She won the Rose Bowl at Toronto's Kiwanis Music Festival,[5] but subsequently opted to be a pianist when she was aged 18 because her voice was not sufficiently developed enough.[2][6]

Under Jean Broadfoot and Gordon Kushner in Winnipeg and under Margaret Miller Brown at The Royal Conservatory of Music, Henig studied piano. She studied voice with Dorothy Allan Park and Lillian Smith Weichel.[1] Henig earned the $1,000 Eaton Graduating Scholarship in Music for being the "student graduating with the highest standing from the Royal Conservatory of Music" in 1955.[7] She performed as a soloist with the Halifax, Toronto and CBC Symphony Orchestras as well as the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Henig qualified for the finals of each of the 1956 and 1957 Naumberg competitions.[8] In 1957, she made her debut in New York, performing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Sonata in A minor at Steinway Concert Hall on December 21.[8] Henig went on to be the guest artist with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra during her British Columbia Coast debut in Sidney, British Columbia on November 6, 1959.[9][10] She also became nationally known by appearing in concerts broadcast on radio and television by the CBC and was a panelist on the CBC Radio program Music and Opinion during 1973.[2][11]

In 1961, Henig went to Europe on a short visit, partaking in the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva and winning the Laureate there. She made her European debut in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in the same year.[1][2] After Canada heard of the news of her European debut, Henig undertook a number of engagements. In 1964, she undertook a more extensive tour of Europe, vising Austria, Greece and Spain and ended her tour at Wigmore Hall in London.[2] Henig also recorded extensively for the BBC.[11] Seven years later, Henig did a concert at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.[2] She was praised by the critic Paul Hume as "... impressive ... superb ... brilliant."[11] Approaching the mid-1970s, Henig made fewer public appearances because she wanted to spend more time with her husband and two children.[2][6]

She was featured on the album Piano Portraits released by Attic Records in 1975.[12] Henig undertook a second tour of Europe lasting three weeks in the following year.[13] She also performed at the Stratford Festival and at the Charlottetown Festival.[11] In early 1978, Henig made her recital debut in New York at Carnegie Hall, performing as a chamber musician, singer and soloist as an accompanist for the Soviet oboist Senia Trubashnik.[14]

Personal life[edit]

Henig was married to the pharmacist William Sidney.[2] They had two children.[15][16] On 15 May 1979,[1] she was found dead at the wheel of her car in the garage of her home in Toronto.[5] The cause of death was ruled as suicide.[17]

Approach and legacy[edit]

She consistently spent five to six hours a day practising.[13][18] Henig only played classical music and did not perform 12-tone works since she did not have much sympathy for that type of music.[6] In 1982, a biography on Henig entitled Elusive Summit: The Biography Of Sheila Henig authored by the freelance writer Madeline Thompson and Henig's father was published.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Schabas, William (July 9, 2007). "Sheila Henig". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lonn, George (1976). "Sheila Henig". Faces of Canada. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Pitt Publishing Company. pp. 311–315. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c Royle, J. C. (March 24, 1938). "Sheila, Aged 4, Hopes That Films Need Brains". The Winnipeg Tribune. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Baby Race Is Started For Hollywood Jobs". Montreal Gazette. The Canadian Press. March 25, 1938. p. 7. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Pianist, 44, found dead". Ottawa Citizen. The Canadian Press. May 17, 1979. p. 77. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c Gardiner, Eunice (April 20, 1972). "Successful with help of husband and housekeepers". Ottawa Journal. p. 45. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "$,1000 Scholarship". Calgary Herald. The Canadian Press. May 30, 1955. p. 5. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "Winnipeg-Born Pianist To Make New York Debut". Ottawa Citizen. The Canadian Press. December 20, 1957. p. 19. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Gruber, Hans (November 7, 1959). "Brilliant Dvorak Concerto Suffered Unjust Neglect". Victoria Daily Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Pianist to Visit Sydney". Vancouver Sun. October 24, 1959. p. 6. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d "Henig with VSO". Richmond Review. January 26, 1977. p. 17. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Peterson, Maureen (August 30, 1975). "Recordings: Piano Portrait's a dog's breakfast". Ottawa Journal. p. 43. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "Concert pianist Sheila Henig to tour Europe". Calgary Herald. The Canadian Press. February 5, 1976. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Horowitz, Joseph (March 5, 1978). "Music. Debuts in Review: Sheila Henig as Pianist, Singer, Chamber Artist". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Macdonald, Vivian (April 20, 1972). "Native music highlight". Ottawa Citizen. p. 46. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Briefly; Sheila Henig dies aged 44". The Globe and Mail. May 17, 1979. p. P15. ProQuest 387118405. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  17. ^ a b Montagnes, Anne (February 27, 1982). "Sheila Henig's sad career as a concert pianist and the numerous stories in Clayoquot's people Of Many Books". The Globe and Mail. p. E15. ProQuest 386692200. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  18. ^ St. D. Johnson, Audrey (October 22, 1960). "The Sounding Board". Victoria Daily Times. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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