Bramwell Tovey
Encyclopedia
Bramwell Tovey, OM
Order of Manitoba
The Order of Manitoba is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter M...

 (born 11 July 1953) is an English
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-born Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

. His musical roots are in The Salvation Army. He was educated at Ilford County High School
Ilford County High School
Ilford County High School is a selective boys' secondary grammar school and a specialist science college in the Barkingside area of the London Borough of Redbridge.ICHS is a four-form entry school, each form comprising up to 30 pupils...

, the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

 and the University of London. His formal music education was as a pianist and composer. Whilst a student at the Royal Academy of Music, he also became a tuba player, studying with John Fletcher
John Fletcher (tubist)
John Fletcher was an English tuba player. Along with composer Derek Bourgeois he played tuba in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Both arrived at Cambridge where there was only one tuba position. Fletcher switched to horn, even performing Britten's Serenade for Tenor and Horn...

.

After a stint conducting the Royal Ballet, Tovey conducted the first season of the revived D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...

 in 1988. Between 1989 and 2001, Tovey was the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...

 of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba.-History:...

. He was instrumental in establishing the city's annual New Music Festival, which began in 1992. He has been the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...

 of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...

 since September 2000. In December 2004, his initial contract was renewed through 2010. In Europe, he was music director of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra , abbreviated to OPL, is the national orchestra of Luxembourg, and is based in Luxembourg City. The orchestra formerly performed at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Conservatoire de Luxembourg...

 from 2002 to 2006. In January 2010, his Vancouver contract was further extended through 2015. In December 2009, Tovey and the VSO rejected an invitation to play at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...

 in Vancouver, after the Vancouver Organizing Committee
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games was the non-profit organization responsible for planning, organizing, financing and staging the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics...

 requested that the orchestra pre-record music that other musicians and a different conductor would mime to at the televised event. Tovey remarked that the plan was "dishonest" and "fraudulent."

Tovey has also become known as a composer. His compositions include a Cello Concerto (premiered in Winnipeg in January 2001), and a work for a large choir and brass band, 'Requiem for a Charred Skull', which in 2003 was awarded a Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

 for Classical Composition of the Year
Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year
The Juno Award for "Classical Composition of the Year" has been awarded since 1987, as recognition each year for the best classical music composition in Canada.-Best Classical Composition :*Malcolm Forsyth, Atayoskewin...

. Tovey also composed the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...

, recorded by the VSO
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...

, for Richard Bell's film Eighteen
Eighteen (film)
Eighteen is a Canadian 2005 dramatic feature film written and directed by Richard Bell.-Plot:The film follows Pip, a street kid who's meeting life head-on in the big city. On his eighteenth birthday he receives his grandfather's Second World War memoirs on audio cassette, a gift that awakens the...

. He was nominated for a Genie Award (Canada's Academy Award), in tandem with Bell, for a song in the film called "In a Heartbeat", which was performed by Thea Gill
Thea Gill
Thea Louise Gill is a Canadian actress best known for her starring role as Lindsay Peterson in the Showtime television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:...

. On commission from the 2005 British Open Brass Band Championship, Tovey composed 'The Night to Sing' as the test piece, inspired by the celebrations of VE Day, 1945. In 2007, Calgary Opera commissioned a new opera from Tovey, currently titled The Inventor.

Tovey has conducted the "Summertime Classics" series of concerts with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...

 since the inception of the series in the summer of 2004, after his 2001 subscription debut with the orchestra. Tovey was appointed Artistic Director of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and conducted his first course in April 2006. He has a long-standing affiliation with the Fodens Brass Band
Foden's Band
Foden's Band is a brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandbach...

 and conducted a CD of his compositions with the Foden's Band, released in May 2009.In March 2008, Tovey was named the next principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...

's Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...

 summer concerts.

Tovey has been involved with numerous television and radio programs related to music. He has been the recipient of three honorary doctorates - Winnipeg (1994), Manitoba (1999) and Kwantlen University College (2004). He is an honorary Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (2006) and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England (2006). He and his wife Lana have two daughters and he has a son from a previous marriage.

Works

Premiere Date Title Instrumentation Details
1979 Cinderella (Rossini, arr. Tovey) Choreography by Peter Darrell
Premiered at Her Majesty's Theatre, (Aberdeen, Scotland)
Over 200 performances
1981 The Three Graces Piano trio Premiered at the Dumfries and Galloway Festival, Scotland
1986 The Snow Queen (ballet based on fragments from Modest Mussorgsky's sketchbook) Soprano & orchestra Choreography by David Bintley
Premiered by Sadler's wells Royal Ballet with Tovey conducting
Over 300 performances to date
1986 Coventry Variations (based on "The Coventry Carol") Brass Premiered at Derngate Theatre (Northampton, England) with Tovey conducting
1992 Party Pieces 12-piece ensemble Premiered at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's New Music Festival
1995 The Bardfield Ayre Brass band Commissioned and premiered by the Hannaford Band, with Tovey conducting
1997 A Fistful of Gilders Narrator, children's chorus & orchestra Premiered by the Assiniboine South Youth Choir and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, with Tovey conducting
1999 Concerto for viola & orchestra Viola and orchestra Premiered by Dan Scholz (viola) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, with Tovey conducting.
2000 Concerto for cello and orchestra Cello & orchestra Commissioned by Bill and Shirley Loewen
Premiered at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's New Music Festival by Paul Marleyn (cello) and the WSO, with Tovey conducting
2003 Requiem for a Charred Skull Large choir & brass brand Recorded by the Amadeus Choir and the Hannaford Band in Toronto
2003 Magnificat Soprano, chorus, children's chours, brass & percussion Commissioned by the Hannaford Band with the assistance of the Laidlaw Foundation
Premiered by Laura Whalen (soprano), Canadian Children's Opera Chorus and the Hannaford Band, with Richard Bradshaw conducting
2004 Santa Barbara Sonata Brass quintet Commissioned by Music Academy of the West for Canadian Brass
Premiered by Canadian Brass
2004 Manhattan Music Brass quintet & orchestra Premiered by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Canadian Brass, with Tovey conducting
2005 Eighteen
Eighteen (film)
Eighteen is a Canadian 2005 dramatic feature film written and directed by Richard Bell.-Plot:The film follows Pip, a street kid who's meeting life head-on in the big city. On his eighteenth birthday he receives his grandfather's Second World War memoirs on audio cassette, a gift that awakens the...


(film soundtrack)
Voice & orchestra Recorded by Vancouver Symphony and Chor Leoni with Tovey conducting
Song "In a Heartbeat" nominated for 2007 Genie Award for "Best Achievement in Music - Original Song"
2005 The Night to Sing Brass band Commissioned by the British Open Brass Band Championship as the test-piece
April 2006 Urban Cabaret Solo trombone, brass & percussion Commissioned for and premiered by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and Joe Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic, with Tovey conducting
Recording released in 2007
January 2007 Pictures in the Smoke Piano, brass & percussion Premiered at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, England), with Tovey playing piano and conducting
May 2007 Nine Daies Wonder Brass band & violin Commissioned and premiered by the Hannaford Band with Mark Fewer (violin) and Tovey conducting
September 2007 Fugitive Voices 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano & string septet Commissioned by Sweetwater Festival, Ontario
September 2007 Manhattan Music (revised version) Brass quintet & wind orchestra Commissioned by Canadian Brass and premiered at the Eastman School of Music with Mark Scatterday conducting
October 2007 Echoes of Jericho 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion & timpani Composed for and premiered at the 10th Anniversary of the Chan Centre of the Performing Arts in British Columbia
Premiere by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra brass section and the University of British Columbia Orchestra, with Tovey conducting.
January 2008 Pictures in the Smoke (revised version) Orchestral brass, percussion & solo piano North American premiere which took place in January 2008 as part of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's new music series, with Tovey playing and conducting
July 2008 Urban Runway Strings, harps, piano/celesta, percussion, & timpani Los Angeles Philharmonic co-commission with the New York Philharmonic
January 2011 (scheduled) The Inventor Full length opera with voices & instrumentation Calgary Opera Commission

See also

  • Music of Canada
    Music of Canada
    The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...

  • List of Canadian composers

External links

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