Edward Fisher (11 January 1848 – 31 May 1913) 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 ...

conductor, teacher,

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 ...

, and founder and first

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

of 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 ...

. Born in

Jamaica, Vermont Jamaica is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Jamaica, East Jamaica and Rawsonville. Its ZIP code is 05343. The town is home to Jamaica State Park, ...

, he studied at the

Boston Conservatory of Music Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

in 1867. His teachers included

Julius Eichberg Julius Eichberg (13 June 1824 – 19 January 1893) was a German-born composer, musical director and educator who worked mostly in Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Julius Eichberg was born in Düsseldorf, Germany to a Jewish family. His first mu ...

, Joseph Bennett Sharland, and

Whitney Eugene Thayer Whitney Eugene Thayer (December 11, 1838, Mendon, Massachusetts – June 27, 1889, Burlington, Vermont) was an American organist and composer. Thayer gave his first concert just after the installation of the new organ in the Boston Music Hall ...

. He later studied in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

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 ...

with

Carl August Haupt Carl August Haupt (28 August 1810, Kuniów, Silesia – 4 July 1891, Berlin) was a German organist, organ teacher and composer. Between 1827 and 1830, Haupt was musically trained in Berlin by August Wilhelm Bach, Bernhard Klein and Siegfri ...

and Carl Albert Loeschhorn. In 1875, he moved to

Ottawa, Ontario 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 ...

, Canada, becoming music director of the

Ottawa Ladies' College The Ottawa Ladies' College was a Nondenominational Christianity, non-denominational Ottawa educational institution founded in 1869 for the purpose of providing a quality education to women. The private school operated on First Avenue in The Glebe ...

and conducted the Ottawa Choral Society. Fisher moved to

Toronto, Ontario 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 was an organist at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church from 1879 to 1899. He was also a music director of the Ontario Ladies’ College in

Whitby, Ontario Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It had a population of 138,501 at the 2021 census. It ...

. In 1886, he started the Toronto Conservatory of Music and was appointed musical director. He died in Toronto on 31 May 1913 and was succeeded by Augustus Stephen Vogt.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Edward 1848 births 1913 deaths People from Jamaica, Vermont American emigrants to Canada Canadian organists Male organists