Janet died peacefully on the 10th January after a battle with dementia in the Broadmead Memorial Lodge Care Home. She is survived by her loving husband, Ken, of 64 years, her daughter Katharine (David), her son Geoffrey (Clare), 13 grandchildren, and 4 great- grandchildren. Janet was born in Tamworth, Ontario to Helen and James Wallace where she spent her early years before the family moved to New Brunswick, first to Sussex, then to Moncton. She studied piano with Ernest Freeborn, and accompanied choirs and the school orchestra at Moncton High School. She went on to Mount Allison University where she obtained a B.Sc. in home economics (cum laude), in 1955, and also studied piano there with Evron Kinsman, and accompanied many singers.
In 1956 Janet travelled to England, where she studied with Robin Wood at the Royal Academy of Music, and in 1957 was awarded the LRAM diploma. She sang for two years with the Royal Choral Society in London, whose members performed regularly in the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony under Sir Malcolm Sargent and others.
In 1958 Janet married Ken Leffek in London with the ceremony performed by Lord Donald Soper. They returned to Canada and settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1961. In 1968 Janet met Yvonne Enoch, who introduced her to the group teaching of piano, in classes of eight students with four pianos. She was hired by the Halifax School System in 1971 to teach piano by this method. The programme grew over twelve years until over 200 children and three part-time teachers were involved. It reached its high point in 1980 when 32 of her students playing 16 pianos in the Halifax Metro Centre performed an arrangement of “The Carnival of the Animals” by Saint Saens. This remains to this day a unique performance in the annals of classical music. Sometime later the programme was terminated by the School Board on the grounds that it was elitist. All told Janet taught piano in Halifax for over 30 years and played an active part in the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers’ Association of which she was made a life member. For nine years she was also the rehearsal accompanist for the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra Choir. Janet has given lectures and workshops on piano group teaching in Nova Scotia and England and taught the piano pedagogy course at Acadia University for one year as a sabbatical replacement. She has adjudicated at over two dozen music Festivals in the four Atlantic provinces and British Columbia. Janet’s last performances were recitals at Care Homes in Victoria, including a number at the Broadmead Memorial Lodge, where she spent the last two years of her life after she developed dementia. Our special thanks are given to Dr.Christine Roh and the staff of this home for the loving care which they gave Janet during her last years. Donations to Broadmead Care would be greatly appreciated.
A celebration of Janet’s life will be held at a later date.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
32 Responses
It took a little longer for me to learn of the passing of my beloved piano teacher who always intended for (and expected) me to be better than I became… Janet Leffek was a beautiful lady of impeccable taste and standards. I’ve never known anyone as giving as she was – we all worked hard to reach her high bar. I’d been her student for almost a decade in the 80s in Halifax.
One year, she picked me up personally, in her Jetta, from school weekly on wednesdays and drove me to the music department on Chebucto St for our group lessons. Then when they canned the music program through city schools, we all went to her home studio. Moving away from Hfx, we exchanged holiday letters with handwritten notes for years after the family moved to BC. I missed those letters when they stopped coming…terribly.
Anything I create today as a ‘musical artist of life’ and teacher is with deepest thanks to her. I know she never imagined I’d completely dispense with sheet music (of other composers) and create music of my own by ear – therein from the obvious failing comes a radical necessary emergence. Again, the honour was entirely ours Mrs. Leffek, that you pushed us as hard as you did – and carried us the entire way.
Mrs. Leffek, I’m so glad I took the chance to send you my music of the recent decades for you to hear, to find you genuinely bemused and delighted, several years ago. I will keep your testimonial up on my website forever – you have made a difference in all our lives.
My condolences to Dr. Ken and the whole family. Much love.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Leffek family on the loss of dear Janet.
We remember her in Halifax not only as a skilled professional in music circles,
but also as a gentle and refined lady whose warm hospitality & generosity of spirit was felt by all who knew her.
May we add she could make the best cranberry chicken ever!
May you draw solace from your precious memories of her.
Sincerely, Rafael and Susanne Alcolado
On behalf of the Halifax Chapter of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers’ Association, I offer sincere condolences to Janet’s family and friends. Our members have many wonderful memories of Janet as an important mentor, superb teacher, and delightful human being.
Ken, Cathy, Geoff, please accept sincere condolences. Janet lived beautiful and meaningful life!!
Przem PRUSZYNSKI with family.
I have such fond memories of Mrs. Leffek, who was my longtime piano teacher when I was a child in the late 70s & early 80s. She was a wonderful teacher. I had a unique relationship with her, because I also played the cello, and I really looked up to Kathy – a very talented cellist! – who was a few years older than me, and we had the same cello teacher: Adam Mueller. Mrs. Leffek was my accompanist for all my Kiwanis Festival classes and other performances for several years – it was so handy that she already knew all the cello repertoire because she had played it all with Kathy already! The very first time she accompanied me I went to her house to rehearse, and with a smile, a laugh, and a wink, she introduced me to “The Chair” (as she put it) – it was wooden and painted white – it was Kathy’s cello chair! I was quite awestruck that I got to sit on this chair for our rehearsals.
One time Mrs. Leffek went on a trip to England and she brought me back a small gift – a tiny tin container with a lid, and painted on the side was a coloured drawing of someone playing the cello – it was so thoughtful of her. I still use this little tin to this day – it has housed my paperclips for 4 decades!
I learned a tremendous amount from Mrs. Leffek, and I was so lucky to have this opportunity in my formative years. She was a warm, supportive, generous, and kind person, and it was an honour to know her and to learn from her. She was a very special lady indeed.
Sending my heartfelt condolences to Mr. Leffek, Kathy, Geoff, and the rest of the family.
Sincerely,
Hilary Brown
Dear Ken, Kathy and David, Geoff and Family,
Please accept my deepest condolences on the death of your beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Janet was an inspiring mentor to me when I was a young piano teacher in my early 20’s. We worked closely together planning the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations (CFMTA) National Convention held in 1991, in Halifax, which Janet chaired. We became colleagues and very good friends, which I so greatly appreciated.
Always mindful of encouraging the musical development of young teachers, Janet inaugurated the piano performance group which met monthly in her lovely home, providing invaluable performance experience, guidance and support for mature students and young teachers who were preparing for advanced Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) piano exams, also welcoming teachers who wished to share the joy of live music-making. The camaraderie, collegiality and musical joy which Janet fostered in we teachers, is still alive today in the NSRMTA, for which we are most grateful.
I want to share my sincere condolences to Ken and family on Janet’s passing.
Janet, or Mrs. Leffek as I knew her for my first few decades, had a significant influence on my life. My first memory of her was seeing her conduct the circle of pianos at the Metro Centre on TV. Little did I know at that tender age that this was a person who would positively change my life.
Janet taught me piano at the Leffek Piano School from age 9 to 17 in small groups of students. She placed great importance on many musical aspects related to the piano but went above and beyond in our training. She taught us how to have discipline and tenacity, but also how to have a great appreciation for music. She kindly and patiently encouraged us to work on solo playing, piano duets, accompanying others, theory, harmonizing, composition, and improvising. Her very comprehensive and thorough methods set me up for a lifetime of enjoyment from playing the piano and other music.
While all classical musicians eventually become adept at reading sheet music if they progress far enough, Janet’s attention to ear training allowed me to delve into different styles of music not easily accessible to those who have received less thorough training.
I had three significant childhood musical influencers, and Janet was the primary one. She built upon our introduction to music from elementary school, and this was followed by many enjoyable years for me climbing through the RCM grades. We reconnected again when I moved to Victoria and I greatly enjoyed rekindling our piano duo repertoire, on hold since my late teens.
Her life and contributions to music changed so many lives for the better, including mine, and I remain very grateful for her.
I hope my fond gratitude, memories, and thoughts – along with others’ – may bring some comfort to you during this difficult time of of loss.
Janet Leffek was an inspiration to those who had the privilege of knowing her. She remained so interested in the activities of members of the NSRMTA after she moved to British Columbia. I would visit her when visiting our son in Victoria and she seemed always to have such fond memories of Halifax and her years in music here. Janet was a friendly, wise, elegant and talented lady.
When I was teaching at Duc Danville School in Halifax in the seventies I asked the children if they knew of someone who could accompany the choirs and a young student named Kathy put up her hand and said “ My Mother can play the piano.” Much to my joy and delight Kathy turned out to be a master of understatement. Her mother turned out to be the outstanding musician we all know and a treasured friend.
Ivan and I moved to Alberta a couple of years later but we kept in touch with Janet and Ken through Christmas letters and some meetings of music educators. When we retired to Victoria in 2007 Janet and Ken were already established here and welcomed us and introduced us to the Canadian Club and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and other delights of Victoria. Best of all, they invited us to their annual Christmas Carol Sing; treasured traditional music, interesting and charming people, and the best Ham and Scalloped Potato dinner ever. (The first year they even made it snow!)
Janet’s many many talents, quiet voice, gentle ways and generosity were backed up by a stalwart strength that made her a friend to be cherished .
She will be deeply and sadly missed.
Dear Ken,
I did not know you and Janet well, but I was touched by my contact with both of you, through Catherine. Please accept my deepest sympathy in your time of grief. She was a wonderful woman who touched many through her gift of music.