Jillian Horton: Pianist, Singer, Songwriter

Medical doctor returns to her roots

Arts profile by Joanne F. Villenewe
The Brandon Sun

When Jillian Horton left Brandon for post-secondary studies on a full scholarship, she may have headed east tothe University of Western Ontario, but a piece of her heart remained in the Prairies. Twelve years after finishing her studies — first with bachelor and master's degrees in English and drama, then in medicine — she has returned to reclaim that part of her past and now lives in Winnipeg.

"I ended up Staying in Ontario because McMaster is kind of oriented to people diverse backgrounds, with a more liberal philosophy as a medical school," says Horton. "Then I ended up staying in Toronto for my internal medicine residency, but I always wanted to come back to Manitoba and I finally did (last) month."

Through all her divergent studies, her first true love — the piano — has never been neglected. She began her music studies at the age of 10, then in her teens, she became a student of former School of Music faculty member, Don Henry.

"She's wildly talented. This girl can do anything and pretty much has — science, music, the arts, language — you name it, from a creative side, what she does with the written word, what she does with notes, it's amazing," says Henry, who fondly remembers attending a performance of a play with music that she had written and performed in university.

"And the fact that she finds time to do all this, while getting a medical degree and being valedictorian for her med class at Mac — it's start1ing."

Horton's original career plans were to become a concert pianist. However, an onset of tendonitis dashed her hopes. "I loved to perform and I had hoped that that would work out, but in my case, it was clear that wasn't going to be a really intelligent choice,"says Horton of her decision to give up her original dream. "It was going to set me up for a lifetime of problems and I probably wasn't going to have the physical endurance to perform."

Undaunted by this challenge, she continued to play and sought another avenue for her talents in both music and English, namely song writing. "What's so funny about all this is it's those experiences of having tendonitis and having problems related to performing that lead to me meeting the person who ultimately produced this record," says Horton. "I have no doubt that if it weren't for him, none of this would ever have happened."

Indeed, a dozen years ago, it was the fortuitous meeting with cellist and CBC producer, Eitan Cornfield, at the Clinic for Performing Artists in Hamilton, that helped her see her soon-to-be released CD project to fruition. After receiving her demo tape — years after their initial meeting — the Toronto-based producer was so taken with her sound — a sound that she had been developing for years and playing just for her friends — that he agreed to help her out.

"It was really intriguing — the very strong narrative current in her music. Each song seemed to be telling a story. Her sense of structure and the songs were all interestingly crafted and then there was the pianism. Her playing was just stunning and supported it so well," says Cornfield, who arranged for their first recorded efforts to get some CBC airplay as well as the attention of Marquis Records' owner, Earl Rosen, to great success."She just totally won me over. I thought she was captivating and that more people deserved to hear her."

Horton's original set of songs, an interpretation of her feelings, thoughts and life, was expanded upon and orchestrated for the final version of the CD. However, one song in particular, Dinosaur Park, stands out in Cornfield's mind as one of the most poignant in the album. The lyrics make allusion to the trials that Horton's family endured after a disastrous surgery left her sister severely handicapped. "It's the tune around which we built the album. It was inspired by the story of her sister and that battle she and her family have had with the Manitoba health-care system, that drove her into medicine in the end.

"It's a bitter, angry, but a very fine song. It's very heartfelt and it made my hair stand up when I first heard it," says Cornfield, who helped her create a 7-track CD prior to the upcoming full-length, mass-release recording."There's something so feisty about Jill, so resilient, so smart, so fundamentally musical, it just came together in a unique kind of package." Having known Horton since her days at New Era school, Greg Hay recalls her early dedication to music. Both were enrolled at the Eckhardt-Gramatte Music Conservatory, where she studied piano while his interest was in the violin.

"She is almost too good to be true. She's super talented," says Hay, who is now a freelance violist who works primarily in Quebec City and Montreal. "Everything she does, she puts 100 per cent into it and you're always guaranteed with her that whatever it is that she does, she's going to come up with something that's top notch whether it's music or writing or medicine. Everything. It's quite remarkable with her."

During the recording process of Horton's CD, Hay contributed his talents to a few of the tracks. Working with his long-time friend gave him a glimpse into the musician she has become and he feels that even though her classical training is behind her, it is still very evident in her playing.

Henry also is not surprised that the singer/songwriter has kept up her high level of musicianship, despite the rigours of academic life and other challenges that Horton has faced.

"Her relationship with the instrument is so genuinely musical. It just doesn't matter what kind of repertoire she happens to be dealing with. That's an outlet for her and part of her creative mind uses the piano," says her former teacher. "She's the most incredible person, who can do so many things and so many things well. I think she'll make big contributions in whatever field. It's hard to imagine today because so few people do it. Everybody seems to get pigeon holed fairly young, but she's avoided it and managed to stay active in so many creative fields simultaneously. "

Although Horton is working fu1l-time as an internist, she has plotted out her schedule in such a way that will allow for performances in support of her CD.

"I have no plans to give up medicine — that's not part of the map that we're working on here. This is a real project of exploration for everybody involved, including Marquis (Records)," says Horton, who is determined to mesh her careers into her life.

"(Marquis and I) are working everything out together. I have a job as a doctor and absolutely love what I do, but I also have a job as a musician and a singer and songwriter. Both things are going to work around one another — there's no doubt in my mind that they will."

The first CD Jillian Horton created for the Marquis label — of a multi-record deal — will be released Oct. 12 and will be available in most CD retail outlets.