March 15, 1900:
Colin Carhart McPhee is born in Montreal, Quebec, Dominion of Canada, first of two children of Alexander McPhee, who worked in sales for the Bell Telephone Company, and Lavinia Carhart.
May 26, 1920:
Piano Concerto no.1 “La mort d’Arthur” by Colin McPhee (20) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore.
January 15, 1924:
Piano Concerto no.2 by Colin McPhee (23) is performed for the first time, in Toronto.
March 29, 1924:
Colin McPhee (24) gives his last piano recital in Toronto before leaving for study in Paris.
May 6, 1925:
Colin McPhee (25) makes his Paris debut in a piano recital in Salle Malakoff.
November 28, 1926:
Darker America, a symphonic poem by William Grant Still (31), is performed for the first time, at an International Composers’ Guild concert in Aeolian Hall, New York. Also premiered is Pastorale and Rondino for two flutes, clarinet, trumpet, and piano by Colin McPhee (26).
February 22, 1929:
Concerto for piano and wind octet by Colin McPhee (28) is performed for the first time, in Rochester, New York the composer at the keyboard and Howard Hanson (32) conducting.
March 13, 1929:
Sea Shanty Suite for baritone, male chorus, two pianos, and timpani by Colin McPhee (28) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
May 6, 1930:
Colin McPhee (30) marries Jane Belo, an amateur anthropologist in Connecticut. He is a homosexual, and she knows it.
March 15, 1931:
At the last Copland (30)-Sessions (34) Concert, in the Broadhurst Theatre, New York, three experimental films by Ralph Steiner are shown: H2O, Mechanical Principles, and Surf and Seaweed. The first two feature music by Colin McPhee (30), and music for the last was composed by Marc Blitzstein (26).
November 6, 1935:
In the Cosmopolitan Club, New York, Colin McPhee (35) presents a program of Balinese music including three films of Balinese musicians with appropriate recordings and three groups of gamelan transcriptions for two pianos made by McPhee. He and Marc Blitzstein (30) are the pianists.
March 27, 1936:
From the Revelation of St. John the Divine for male chorus, three trumpets, two pianos, and timpani by Colin McPhee (36) is performed for the first time, in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York.
September 4, 1936:
Tabuh-tabuhan for two pianos and orchestra by Colin McPhee (36) is performed for the first time, in Mexico City conducted by Carlos Chávez (37). It is very successful.
December 26, 1938:
Colin McPhee (38) sails from Batavia (Jakarta) for New York by way of Cape Town and Halifax. He has been on Bali for almost two years, during which he was divorced by his wife.
August 5, 1940:
Incidental music to O’Neill’s play The Emperor Jones by Colin McPhee (40) is performed for the first time, in Westport, Connecticut.
April 5, 1942:
The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowships are announced, including one for Colin McPhee (42).
March 28, 1943:
The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowships are announced, including ones for Colin McPhee (43) and Harry Partch (41). Partch has already been informed by a friend.
May 22, 1948:
Incidental music to the radio documentary Broken Arrow by Colin McPhee (48) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the CBS radio network, originating in Minneapolis.
March 20, 1955:
Transitions for orchestra by Colin McPhee (55) is performed for the first time, in Vancouver and broadcast throughout Canada.
June 30, 1956:
Colin McPhee (56) arrives by bus in Los Angeles from New York. He is to take up a residency with the Huntington Hartford Foundation in New York.
January 15, 1958:
Symphony no.2 “Pastorale” by Colin McPhee (57) is performed for the first time, in Louisville.
December 3, 1958:
Nocturne for chamber orchestra by Colin McPhee (58) is performed for the first time, in New York.
January 7, 1964:
Colin Carhart McPhee dies of cirrhosis of the liver in Crescent Bay Convalescent Hospital, Los Angeles, USA, aged 63 years, nine months, and 23 days. His earthly remains will be laid to rest in Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles.
January 14, 1964:
A concert in memory of Colin McPhee (†0) takes place at UCLA.
June 26, 2009:
A House in Bali, a multimedia opera by Evan Ziporyn (49) to words of Schick after Colin McPhee (†45), is performed for the first time, at Puri Saraswati in Ubud, Bali.