Gordon Wry (1910–1985) was a Canadian

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and conductor. His voice is preserved on a handful of recordings made with pianist

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

. Born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

, Wry studied singing with renowned

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

Nellie Smith and music theory with

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and ...

at 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 ...

. He was one of the original members of the Festival Singers of Canada and was instrumental in encouraging

Elmer Iseler Elmer Walter Iseler, (October 14, 1927 – April 3, 1998) was a Canadian choir conductor and choral editor. He was the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and founder of the Festival Singers of Canada and the Elmer Iseler Singers. Edu ...

to form that choir. He performed with that ensemble during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He also worked as G. Ricordi & Co.'s Canadian agent during the 1950s. Wry performed with the Canadian Opera Company during its early years and was a leading tenor with the

CBC Opera Company The CBC Opera Company (CBCOC) was a Canadian opera company established by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with the purposes of performing operas for live broadcast on CBC Radio. Established in 1948, Charles Jennings served as chairman of the ...

from 1949–1953. He notably portrayed the role of Bob Boles in the Canadian premiere of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

'' for the opening of the CBC Opera Company's second season with William Morton in the title role,

Edmund Hockridge Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his life ...

as Captain Balstrode, Frances James as Ellen Orford, and

Eric Tredwell The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

as Swallow. The production was awarded the Best Music Program prize at the 1950 Canadian Radio Awards Competition. In 1954 he portrayed the title role in the world premiere of

Frederick Jacobi Frederick Jacobi (May 4, 1891 – October 24, 1952) was a Jewish-American composer and teacher. His works include symphonies, concerti, chamber music, works for solo piano and for solo organ, lieder, and one opera. He taught at Juilliard School o ...

's ''The Prodigal Son'' at the Forest Hill Collegiate Auditorium in Toronto. Wry taught for many years on the faculty of

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mode ...

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 ...

where he founded and conducted the Massey College Singers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wry, Gordon 1910 births 1985 deaths Male conductors (music) Canadian operatic tenors Musicians from Saint John, New Brunswick The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male opera singers