Marjorie Whylie

Marjorie Whylie OD is a Jamaican pianist, percussionist and educator who was musical director of the National Dance Theatre Company for 45 years.

Marjorie Whylie
OriginKingston, Jamaica
GenresJazz, folk
Years active1950s–present
Associated actsJamaica Big Band, Whylie Wrhythm

Career

Whylie began playing piano at two and a half years old and had formal lessons from the age of six.[1] She performed in public from the age of five, attended St. Andrews High School from the age of nine, and as a student at the University of the West Indies (UWI) played steelpan.[1]

She taught Spanish at Kingston College and began teaching music.[1] In 1962 she was part of the "Roots and Rhythms" dance production set up to celebrate Jamaican independence and worked with Eddie Thomas and Rex Nettleford, who went on to found the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC).[2] She joined the NDTC in 1965 as a pianist and went on to become leader of the NDTC singers, and was musical director of the NDTC for 45 years before retiring in 2013.[2][3] She also studied dance and for nine years, ballet.[3]

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.[2][4]

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.[1][5] 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.[2][6][7] She has lectured outside her homeland in Europe and North America.[7]

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.[8][9][10]

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.[1] 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

References
  1. Johnson, Richard (2015), "With Distinction: Marjorie Whylie humbled at nat’l award recognition", Jamaica Observer, 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  2. Johnson, Richard (2013), "Marjorie Whylie's curtain call", Jamaica Observer, 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  3. Reckord, Michael (2013), "Multitalented Marjorie Whylie & The NDTC (Pt 1)", Jamaica Gleaner, 19 April 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  4. O'Gorman, Pamela (1991), "Marjorie Whylie's Contribution to the Development of Drumming in Jamaica", Jamaica Journal, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 33-37.
  5. Morris, Mervyn (2014) Miss Lou: Louise Bennett and Jamaican Culture, Signal Books, ISBN 978-1908493972
  6. Sörgel, Sabine (2007), Dancing Postcolonialism: The National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, Transcript Verlag, ISBN 978-3899426427, p. 135.
  7. Harris, Craig "Marjorie Whylie Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  8. "Marjorie's Whylie Wrhythm to rock Ocho Rios Jazz Festival Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Observer, 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  9. Moskowitz, David V. (2005), Caribbean Popular Music, Greenwood Press, ISBN 978-0313331589, p. 42.
  10. Miller, Herbie (2009), "Marjorie Whylie: A national treasure", Jamaica Gleaner, 5 April 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
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