Eli Kassner, (27 May 1924 – 23 August 2018) was a Canadian classical guitar teacher and musician. Eli Kassner studied guitar in Vienna and Israel before moving to Canada in 1951. He also studied in the United States, Israel, and in Spain, under the great virtuoso classical guitarist,

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students. Segovia's contribution to the m ...

. He performed until 1967. In 1956, he founded the Guitar Society of Toronto. He was its president from 1960 to 1966 and artistic director from 1970 to 2008. In 1967, he established the Eli Kassner Guitar Academy. He established the guitar program at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and

The Royal 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 ...

in Toronto (RCMT) in 1959 and started the University of Toronto Guitar Ensemble in 1978. In the 1970s, Kassner became interested in

microphotography Microphotographs are photographs shrunk to microscopic scale.

, and worked as a composer and performer for the CBC Television series ''

The Lively Arts The Lively Arts was a weekly half-hour CBC Television programme about arts and culture. It ran from October 1961 to June 1964. The show was composed of filmed and studio interviews, either produced by the CBC or purchased from the BBC #REDIRECT ...

'' and ''

The Nature of Things ''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hum ...

''. Eli Kassner was awarded an honorary doctorate from Carleton University and was also inducted into the Guitar Foundation of America's Hall of Fame. In 2009, the Guitar Society of Toronto, honored Eli Kassner with a lifetime 'Artistic Director Emeritus' appointment. In 2016, he was appointed as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

Notable students

Liona Boyd Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a classical guitarist often referred to as the First Lady of the Guitar. Music career Early years Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spain, and her ...

Annabelle Chvostek Annabelle Chvostek (born October 5, 1973) is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. Life and career Born in Toronto, she is the daughter of Canadian television producer Milan Chvostek (''The Nature of Things'') and journalist ...

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, '' Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has ...

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...

Norbert Kraft Norbert Kraft (born 21 August 1950) is a Canadian guitarist, music teacher, producer and arranger. Life Born in Linz, Austria, Kraft's family emigrated to Canada in 1954. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music at Toronto with Carl van Feggel ...

* Gordon O'Brien *

Pavlo Simtikidis Pavlo Simtikidis, often called simply Pavlo (born June 29, 1969) is a Greek-Canadian guitarist who plays, "a Mediterranean sound mixing the folkloric styles of Greek, Spanish and Latin music with pop sensibilities." Born in Toronto, Canada, he is ...

* Timothy Phelan

Bibliography

* Smith, Harold. "Eli Kassner: a biography" ''Guitar Canada'', vol 2, Spring 1989 * Levy, Harold. "The road to respect", ''ibid'' * Blackadar, Bruce. "Ovation for a guitar master", ''Toronto Star'', 20 May 1989

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kassner, Eli 1924 births 2018 deaths Musicians from Vienna Austrian emigrants to Canada Canadian classical guitarists Canadian male guitarists Musicians from Toronto The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century Canadian male musicians