Beverly Glenn-Copeland Explained

Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Origin:Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada (now Tantramar, New Brunswick, Canada)
Genre:Jazz, new age, folk
Occupation:Songwriter, musician, actor
Instrument:Guitar, piano, synthesizer
Years Active:1970–present
Label:GRT, Atlast
Website: and

Beverly Glenn-Copeland (born January 1944) is an American-born Canadian[1] [2] singer-songwriter. His albums include Keyboard Fantasies (1986).[3] Glenn-Copeland began publicly identifying as a trans man in 2002.[4] [5] [6]

Early life

Glenn-Copeland was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a musical family.[7] As a child, Glenn-Copeland listened to his father play the music of Bach, Chopin, and Mozart on the piano, and heard his mother occasionally sing spirituals.[6]

In 1961, Glenn-Copeland was one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal.[8]

In 1973, while in Los Angeles, Glenn fell in love with the chanting at a local Soka Gakkai International meeting and has been a practicing Buddhist since the mid-1970s.[9]

Musical career

Glenn-Copeland started his career as a folk singer incorporating jazz, classical, and blues elements.[10] He also performed on albums by Ken Friesen, Bruce Cockburn, Gene Murtynec, Bob Disalle, and Kathryn Moses,[11] [10] and was a writer on Sesame Street.[12] He spent twenty-five years entertaining children as a regular actor on Canadian children's television show Mr. Dressup.[13]

Glenn-Copeland's 1986 electronic album Keyboard Fantasies, recorded using equipment including a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland TR-707,[14] and other recordings were rediscovered and promoted by Japanese record collector Ryota Masuko in 2015.[15] [16] Before Glenn-Copeland's gender transition was made public, Keyboard Fantasies was selected as one of the 70 greatest recordings by women by The Stranger.[17] The album was named as the public vote winner of the Polaris Heritage Prize at the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.[18] Keyboard Fantasies was remastered and reissued in February 2017 as Copeland Keyboard Fantasies by Invisible City Editions[19] and re-released again on vinyl that same year on Séance Centre.

Other albums by Glenn-Copeland include Beverly Copeland (1970), Beverly Glenn-Copeland (1971), At Last! (1980), Primal Prayer (released under the pseudonym Phynix in 2004), and the career-spanning compilation Transmissions (2020).[20]

, a documentary directed by Posy Dixon, was released in 2019.[21] [22]

Planned 2020 international tours to Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European destinations were rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A fundraising campaign was initiated to help Glenn-Copeland and his wife after the loss of their house that resulted from these changes; the campaign raised over $90,000.[23] In the same year, Glenn-Copeland created a prerecorded video performance of his song "Courage" for Buddies in Bad Times and CBC Gem's online Queer Pride Inside show.[24]

His 2023 album The Ones Ahead was a longlisted nominee for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.[25]

Discography

Studio albums

Other albums

Films

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Exclusive: Watch Beverly-Glenn Copeland's Incredible Lecture at the Red Bull Music Academy Weekender in Montreal . January 17, 2018 . Complex.
  2. Web site: Weldon . Tori . May 28, 2020 . Musician's meteoric rise comes to a crashing halt CBC News . December 10, 2023 . CBC.
  3. Web site: 2023-01-17. Keyboard Fantasies review – glorious doc about pioneering trans composer. 9 November 2021. The Guardian.
  4. Web site: Voice soars above gender, says transgender man performing in Toronto this week . Cbc.ca . December 1, 2017.
  5. News: The singer formerly seen as she . Theglobeandmail.com. December 4, 2017.
  6. Web site: Beverly Glenn-Copeland's Music for a Future That Never Came . September 15, 2020 . The New Yorker. September 11, 2020 .
  7. News: Josh. Schot. 2023-01-17. Musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland on growing up black and gay in Philadelphia, and finding fame at 70. The Telegraph. 10 April 2021. 0307-1235.
  8. Web site: Díaz . Devan . January 7, 2020 . Going Exploring With Beverly Glenn-Copeland . June 10, 2020 . Papermag.com.
  9. Web site: Negru. John Harvey. We're All Different: Musician Glenn Copeland on his journey as a Black, Buddhist, transgender artist - Lion's Roar. March 31, 2018 . August 15, 2021.
  10. Web site: Beverley Glenn-Copeland - Biography & History - AllMusic . December 1, 2017 . AllMusic.
  11. Web site: Archive . Canadian Jazz . 2024-03-07 . Kathryn Moses Musician Biography Canadian Jazz Archive Online . 2024-03-08 . canadianjazzarchive.net . en.
  12. News: Ryce . Andrew . Review: Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Copeland Keyboard Fantasies . Resident Advisor . January 7, 2018.
  13. Web site: Beverly Glenn-Copeland . January 7, 2018 . Seance-centre.com.
  14. Web site: Ediriwira. Amar. October 20, 2016. Invisible City Editions preps Beverly Glenn-Copeland reissue. January 8, 2021. The Vinyl Factory.
  15. Web site: Play It Forward: Glenn Copeland On Patience, Positivity And The Band Bernice. Npr.org. May 30, 2021.
  16. Web site: The Incredible Life of Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Canadian Music's Unsung Hero Exclaim! . 2024-03-08 . The Incredible Life of Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Canadian Music's Unsung Hero Exclaim! . en.
  17. Web site: The Problem with NPR's '150 Greatest Albums Made by Women' List . Thestranger.com. December 1, 2017.
  18. https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2020/11/16/2020-slaight-family-polaris-heritage-prize-winners-named "2020 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winners Named"
  19. Web site: 2023-01-17. Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Copeland Keyboard Fantasies · Album Review ⟋ RA. Resident Advisor.
  20. Web site: Listeners Found Beverly Glenn-Copeland. It Was Time.. Grayson Haver. Currin. September 14, 2020. May 30, 2021. The New York Times.
  21. News: Reynolds . Daniel . The World Is Finally Ready for Trans Musical Genius Glenn Copeland . September 25, 2020 . . August 28, 2020.
  22. Web site: 2023-01-17. Review: In 'Keyboard Fantasies,' legendary musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland gets his due. 30 October 2021. Los Angeles Times.
  23. Web site: Sanders . Wren . June 3, 2020 . GoFundMe Launched for Composer and Black Trans Elder Beverly Glenn-Copeland . June 7, 2020 . Them.us.
  24. Peter Knegt, "This Pride, come inside for a digital queer cabaret unlike anything else". CBC Arts, June 22, 2020.
  25. https://www.cbc.ca/music/polaris-music-prize-2024-long-list-the-beaches-charlotte-cardin-allison-russell-1.7230166 "2024 Polaris Music Prize long list: the Beaches, Tobi, Elisapie, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and more"
  26. Web site: 2023-01-17. Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Keyboard Fantasies. Pitchfork.
  27. Web site: Beverly Glenn-Copeland – Live at Le Guess Who?. AllMusic. July 27, 2023.
  28. Web site: February 2, 2021. Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland. Pitchfork.com.
  29. Web site: David. Smyth. 2023-01-17. Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined review. 10 December 2021. Evening Standard.
  30. News: 2023-01-17. Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined. The Irish Times.
  31. News: Billy. Anania. 2023-01-17. The Joyful Return of a Trans Icon and Electronic Music Pioneer. 14 February 2022. Hyperallergic.

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