Marjorie Whylie
{{Short description|Jamaican musical artist (born 1944)}}
{{Use Jamaican English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marjorie Whylie
| image =
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| landscape =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1944}}
| birth_place = St. Andrew, Jamaica
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| education = St Andrew High School
| alma_mater = University of the West Indies
| occupation = Pianist, percussionist and educator
| instrument =
| years_active = 1950s–present
| relatives = Dwight Whylie (brother)
| website =
}}
Marjorie Whylie СD OD (born 1944){{cite book|title=Women in Jamaican Music|first=Heather|last=Augustyn|page=154|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476639598|date=2020}} is a Jamaican pianist, percussionist and educator who was musical director of the National Dance Theatre Company for 45 years.{{cite news|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20220814/marjorie-whylie-keeping-beat-six-decades|title=Marjorie Whylie keeping the beat for six decades|newspaper=Jamaica Gleaner|first=Stephanie|last=Lyew|date=14 August 2022|access-date=15 April 2023}}
Biography
Whylie was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, in 1944.Shurvin, Rebecca D., "Whylie, Marjorie Arnoldene Gregory (1944–)", in Franklin W. Knight and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (eds), Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography, Oxford University Press, 2016. She began playing piano when she was two and a half years old and had formal lessons from the age of six.Johnson, Richard (2015), "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/With-Distinction_19222827 With Distinction: Marjorie Whylie humbled at nat’l award recognition]", Jamaica Observer, 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015. She performed in public from the age of five, attended St. Andrew High School from the age of nine, and as a student at the University of the West Indies (UWI) played steelpan.
She taught Spanish at Kingston College and began teaching music. In 1962 she was part of the "Roots and Rhythms" dance production set up to celebrate Jamaican independence and worked with Eddy Thomas and Rex Nettleford, who co-founded the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC).Johnson, Richard (2013), [http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Marjorie-Whylie-s-curtain-call_14009953 "Marjorie Whylie's curtain call"], Jamaica Observer, 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2015. Whylie joined the NDTC in 1965 as a pianist, going on to become leader of the NDTC singers, and she was musical director of the NDTC for 45 years before retiring in 2013.Reckord, Michael (2013), "[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130419/ent/ent1.html Multitalented Marjorie Whylie & The NDTC (Pt 1)]", Jamaica Gleaner, 19 April 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2015. She also studied dance and for nine years, ballet.
Her interest in traditional Jamaican and African music was reflected in her work with the NDTC, with Nettleford describing Whylie's understanding of traditional music as critical to its artistic direction, and her enthusiasm for Jamaican rhythms has been influential in Jamaican music generally.O'Gorman, Pamela (1991), "Marjorie Whylie's Contribution to the Development of Drumming in Jamaica", Jamaica Journal, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 33–37.
She worked with the National Pantomime before becoming a household name in Jamaica via her performances on children's television programme Ring Ding between the early 1970s and 1982.Morris, Mervyn (2014), Miss Lou: Louise Bennett and Jamaican Culture, Signal Books, {{ISBN|978-1908493972}}. She went on to become acting director of the music department at the UWI and head of the Folk Music Research Department at the Jamaica School of Music.Sörgel, Sabine (2007), Dancing Postcolonialism: The National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, Transcript Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3899426427}}, p. 135.Harris, Craig "[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/marjorie-whylie-mn0001745506/biography Marjorie Whylie Biography]", Allmusic. Retrieved 9 August 2015. She has lectured outside her homeland in Europe and North America.
She performed for many years as part of the Jamaica Big Band, playing piano and congas, is leader of the band Whylie Wrythm, which has performed internationally, and has performed with Cedric Brooks."[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Marjorie-s-Whylie-Wrhythm-to-rock-Ocho-Rios-Jazz-Festival_8984534 Marjorie's Whylie Wrhythm to rock Ocho Rios Jazz Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134741/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Marjorie-s-Whylie-Wrhythm-to-rock-Ocho-Rios-Jazz-Festival_8984534 |date=4 March 2016 }}", Jamaica Observer, 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2015.Moskowitz, David V. (2005), Caribbean Popular Music, Greenwood Press, {{ISBN|978-0313331589}}, p. 42.Miller, Herbie (2009), [http://mobile.jamaicagleaner.com/20090405/ent/ent6.php "Marjorie Whylie: A national treasure"], Jamaica Gleaner, 5 April 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
Whylie was awarded the Order of Distinction - Officer Class by the Jamaican government, and in 2015 she was named as a recipient of the Commander Class (CD) for her outstanding contribution to the arts. In 1997 she was inducted into the Jamaica Jazz Hall of Fame and in 2004 received the Prime Minister's award for Excellence in Theatre and Music.
Her brother Dwight Whylie (1936–2002) was a journalist and broadcaster.
Publications
- Rhythm Kit #1 (1981), Jamaica School of Music.
- Folk Songs of Jamaica (1997), Ian Randle Publishers, {{ISBN|978-9768123237}} – with Joy Fairclough.
- Our Musical Heritage: The Power of the Beat (2005), Grace Kennedy Foundation, ASIN B0017XF3X8.
- [https://www.alfred.com/jamaican-folk-song-suite/p/00-48972/ Jamaican Folk Song Suite] (2022), Alfred Music.
References
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Category:20th-century Jamaican women musicians
Category:21st-century Jamaican women musicians
Category:Commanders of the Order of Distinction
Category:Jamaican jazz musicians
Category:Jamaican music educators
Category:Jamaican women music educators