Harry Adaskin, ( lv, Harijs Adaskins; 6 October 19017 April 1994) was a Canadian violinist, academic, and radio broadcaster.

History

Born to a Jewish family in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(present-day

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

), he emigrated with his family to

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 ...

. At the age of twelve, he started 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 ...

, and at the age of 16 became a member of

Frank Welsman Frank Squire Welsman (20 December 1873 – 2 July 1952) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer and music educator. He began his career as a concert pianist, but ultimately earned his place in Canadian history for establishing Toronto's fir ...

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 ...

. He later studied at the Hamburger Konservatorium with Henri Czaplinski. In 1923, he formed the Hart House String Quartet and played second violin. He was the host of several

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

programs, including ''Musically Speaking'' and ''Tuesday Night''. From 1946 to 1958, he was the head of the new Department of Music at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and taught there until his retirement in 1973. In 1977, he wrote the first part of his autobiography, ''A Fiddler's World – Memoirs to 1938'' and in 1982, he wrote the second part to his autobiography, ''A Fiddler's Choice – Memoirs from 1938 Til 1980''. He is the brother of

Murray Adaskin Murray Adaskin, (March 28, 1906 – May 6, 2002) was a Toronto-born Canadian violinist, composer, conductor and teacher. After playing violin with a band, he studied composition and became the director of the Music department of the University of ...

. In 1926, he married Frances Adaskin. It was announced 18 December 1974 that he was awarded 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 ...

. On 16 April 1975, Adaskin was invested as an Officer of the

. Adaskin died 7 April 1994

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada.

References

External links

Harry Adaskin
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adaskin, Harry 1901 births 1994 deaths People from Riga People from Kreis Riga category:Latvian Jews 20th-century Russian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada Canadian people of Latvian-Jewish descent Canadian music academics Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists Jewish Canadian musicians Musicians from Toronto 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century musicologists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Officers of the Order of Canada