Fonds F0483 - Victor Feldbrill fonds

Victor Feldbrill, conductor and violinist, was born on 4 April 1924 in Toronto, Ontario. He studied violin privately from 1936 to 1943 with Sigmund Steinberg, music theory with John Weinzweig in 1939 and conducting with Ettore Mazzoleni in 1942 to 1943. He was the conductor of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1942 to 1943 and first conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1943 at the invitation of Sir Ernest MacMillan. Feldbrill served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and was stationed in London, England, where he furthered his studies in harmony and composition at the Royal College of Music and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music. Upon his return to Canada, he held the positions of concertmaster and assistant conductor (1945-1949) of the Royal Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and Opera Company and studied violin from 1946 to 1949 with Kathleen Parlow and received an artist diploma from the University of Toronto in 1949. During these years he also continued his studies in conducting at Tanglewood in the summer of 1947, and with Pierre Monteux in Maine in the summers of 1949 and 1950. He was a first violin with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1949 to 1956 and with the CBC Symphony Orchestra from 1952 to 1956, which he also guest-conducted nineteen times. He founded the Canadian Chamber Players in 1952 and conducted them for several seasons in Hart House Sunday concerts and elsewhere. During the 1950s he also conducted for Ontario School Broadcasts and National School Broadcasts and freelanced as a violinist and conductor for many other CBC radio and TV programs. He was the founding conductor of the TSO's "Light Classics" series in 1972 and created the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra in 1974. Feldbrill has traveled widely as both a conductor and violinist. In 1979, he was invited to the Tokyo National University of Art and Music (GEIDAI), the first Canadian to be so honoured, and from 1982 to 1987, was the Principal Conductor of the Geidai Philhamronic. He also taught conducting at Geidai during this period and was made Professor Emeritus in 1987. In 1984, he became the first Canadian invited to conduct the Philippine Philharmonic in Manila. He has also visited China, the former Soviet Union and many other countries as guest conductor during his career. Feldbrill has won many awards for his work. In 1964, he became the first Canadian to receive the American Concert Guild Award for his encouragement of young performers and in 1967 became the first recipient of the Canadian Music Citation by the League of Canadian Composers. He was the recipient of the Roy Thomson Hall Award in 1985 and, in 1986, was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1990, he was appointed Musical Director and Principal Conductor of Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. He received an honorary degree from Brock University in 1991. Feldbrill died on 17 June 2020 at the age of 96.