Donald Heins (19 February 1878 – 1 January 1949) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist,

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, conductor,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

birth. He notably founded the first professional orchestra in Ottawa, the

Ottawa Symphony Orchestra The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic rep ...

(no relation to the current orchestra of that name), in 1902, serving as its director until 1927. He also served in a variety of positions with the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

from 1927–1949, including

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

, principal violist, and assistant conductor. He was highly active as an educator, notably founding the instrumental music program at Ottawa's public school system and teaching on the faculties of the

Canadian Conservatory of Music The Canadian Conservatory of Music was a music conservatory in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that was actively providing higher education in music during the first half of the 20th century. History Founded by Harry Puddicombe in 1902, the school was loc ...

(1902–1927) and the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

(1927–1948). His compositions include several

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s and

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

s, some

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

for string instruments, a small amount of

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l music, the ''Saint Ursula Mass'' for female choir and small orchestra, and two short

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s, ''An Old Tortugas'' (1936) and ''Yellow Back'' (1939), both of which were commissioned by the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

Early life and education

Born in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, Heins was the grandson of a German piano maker who had immigrated to England. He received his musical training in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

from 1892–1897, where he was a pupil of

Richard Hofmann Richard Hofmann (8 February 1906 – 5 May 1983) was a German football player. He played in 25 internationals for Germany as a centre forward, scoring 24 goals, including the first ever international hat-trick against England by a player from ...

(

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

), Gustav Schreck (

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

), and

Hans Sitt Hans Sitt (born Jan Hanuš Sitt on 21 September 1850, Prague – 10 March 1922, Leipzig), was a Bohemian violinist, violist, teacher, and composer. During his lifetime, he was regarded as one of the foremost teachers of violin. Most of the orches ...

(violin). Heins returned to England in 1897, where he continued with further musical studies under

August Wilhelmj __NOTOC__ August Emil Daniel Ferdinand Wilhelmj ( ; 21 September 184522 January 1908) was a German violinist and teacher. Wilhelmj was born in Usingen and was considered a child prodigy; when Henriette Sontag heard him in 1852 at seven years o ...

for the next five years. During that time, he played in the first violin section of several orchestras, including those led by

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

and

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...

. He later studied under

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

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in the 1920s.

Life in Ottawa

In 1902 Heins crossed the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

to come to Canada, settling in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. He remained in the capital for the next 25 years, where he was a member of the faculty of the

(CCM). The conservatory's founder, Harry Puddicombe, was married to his sister. Heins notably founded the school's symphony orchestra in 1903 and served as its director through 1927. In 1910 the orchestra was restructured to become the

. With the orchestra, Heins presented several major symphonies that had never been heard in the city of Ottawa, including works by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, and

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

. While teaching at the CCM, Heins also held an organist posts at three different

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

churches in Ottawa; a career spanning a total of 23 years. In 1918 he established the first violin training program in Ottawa's public schools, enlisting a group of 14 violin teachers to forward the project. With the success of this program, he went on to establish the school's system's first student orchestra, which gave four concerts annually under his baton. He also spent three years as the conductor of the 43rd Regiment's Royal Artillery Band while in Ottawa.

Life in Toronto

In 1927 Heins left Ottawa for

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life. He taught at the

from 1927-1948, where he notably conducted the school's symphony orchestra from 1930-1934. He also was the violist in the

Conservatory String Quartet The Conservatory String Quartet (CSQ) was a Canadian string quartet in residence at The Royal Conservatory of Music during the first half of the 20th century. The group actively performed in the Toronto area and regularly toured throughout the Prov ...

from 1929-1934. He served as

of the

(TSO) from 1927–1931, and was then the TSO's principal

from 1931-1938. He continued to play in the viola section with the orchestra up until his death in 1949. He was the TSO's assistant conductor from 1931-1942. While in Toronto, he also worked at St Mary the Virgin Anglican Church as their organist. He died in Toronto at the age of 70.

Writings

*''Technical Devices for Violinists (1942)''

Works

*''Country Dance (1905)'' *''Gloria'': Violin and Pianoforte; publ. by Theo. Presser Co. Philadelphia, 1924. *''Circus Day'': Violin and Pianoforte; publ. by Theo. Presser, Philadelphia, 1924. *''Puppet's Dance'': Violin and Pianoforte, publ. by Oliver Ditson, Boston, 1924. *''The Dutch Family: Violin and Pianoforte (1928)'' *''The Bell Boy Suite: Violin and Piano (1928)'' *''An Old Tortugas (1936)'',

*''Yellow Black (1939)'',

*''Saint Ursula Mass'',

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

*''The Awakening'',

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

*''Blest are the Pure in Heart'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heins, Donald 1878 births 1949 deaths Canadian classical composers Canadian male classical composers Canadian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Academic staff of the Canadian Conservatory of Music Canadian classical organists Male classical organists Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists Canadian classical violists University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni Canadian music educators Canadian opera composers Male opera composers People from Hereford Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music Musicians from Ottawa Musicians from Toronto 19th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers 20th-century violists British emigrants to Canada