Bramwell Tovey (1953-2022)

by Scott

We would like to acknowledge the passing of the great conductor, pianist and composer Bramwell Tovey, who was a towering figure in the Classical music scene throughout Canada as well internationally. I grew up attending concerts conducted by Mr. Tovey in Winnipeg in the 1990s, where he was the Winnipeg Symphony’s artistic director. His concerts were always memorable, not only for the inspiration he communicated from the orchestra to the audience, but also for his masterful public speaking and explanations of the music. My parents and I would always leave concerts feeling enlightened from his pre-concert talks and interviews, as well as from his sophisticated dry humor and demonstrations between pieces throughout concerts. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to attend as many concerts as we would have liked, while he was the Vancouver Symphony’s director, but the few that we did were just as inspiring as I remembered.

Here is a photo my parents took of me as a teenager meeting Mr. Tovey at a piano store in Winnipeg. He is holding one of his recently-born children.