Fonds F2583 - Gladys McLennan fonds

Gladys Flint, 1895-1997, was born in Montreal, Quebec. In 1908 she moved with her family to Leipzig, Germany, and studied violin at the Leipzig Conservatory. In 1914 the family moved to New York, where she studied at the Damrosch Institute of Musical Art. In 1918 she moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where she played with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. In 1929 Gladys married Alex McLennan, a teacher and geologist, and moved to Calgary. She suspended her musical career to raise a family, but resumed it in the mid-1940s when she joined the Mount Royal College Symphony Orchestra. She later played with the Calgary Symphony Orchestra and the Alberta Philharmonic Orchestra, which amalgamated in 1955 to form the Calgary Philharmonic. She retired from the orchestra in 1968. She had five sons, including Gordon and Allan.

For further biographical information, see Brian Brennan, “Violinist a Musical Pioneer in Alberta”, Calgary Herald, December 12, 1997.