Ivan Romanoff (8 March 1914 – 14 March 1997) was a Canadian conductor,

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,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, and

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 ...

. For three decades he led the "Ivan Romanoff Orchestra and Chorus" on a variety of radio and television programs for 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. ...

, on commercial recordings, and in live concerts throughout North America. As a composer he wrote a number of

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s for Canadian television and radio and incidental music for several

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s produced by the CBC. He also composed a number of songs that were written in a variety of national styles.

Early life and education

Born Ivan Pezhuk in Toronto, Romanoff was the son of Ukrainian immigrants. As a child he performed in a

mandolin orchestra A mandolin orchestra is an orchestra consisting primarily of instruments from the mandolin family of instruments, such as the mandolin, mandola, mandocello and mandobass or mandolone. Some mandolin orchestras use guitars and double-basses instead ...

and was a violin pupil of

Alexander Chuhaldin Alexander Gregorovitch Chuhaldin (russian: Александр Григорьевич Чухалдин) (27 August 1892 – 20 January 1951) was a Russian violinist, conductor, composer, and music educator who later emigrated to Canada. He spen ...

, Chris Dafeff, Broadus Farmer, and

Kathleen Parlow Kathleen Parlow (September 20, 1890 – August 19, 1963) was a violinist known for her outstanding technique, which earned her the nickname "The lady of the golden bow". Although she left Canada at the age of four and did not permanently return ...

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 began playing the violin in a number of radio orchestras conducted by Chuhaldin in the early 1930s and was at the same time actively performing in Toronto with Stanley St John's

dance band ''Dance Band'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, June Clyde and Steven Geray. It was shot at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director David Rawnsley. Plot When dance band ...

. Soon thereafter he appeared in the

Promenade Symphony Concerts An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

and he became active as a violinist with various orchestras at the

. He was also heard as a soloist on the CBC programs ''Sixteen Men and a Harp'', ''Gypsy Crossroads'', and ''Russian Ensemble''. From 1943-1946 he was a conductor, arranger, and performer for the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

musical revue ''

Meet the Navy ''Meet the Navy'' was a musical revue produced by the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Directed by Hollywood producer Louis Silver and Broadway choreographer Larry Ceballos, the production premiered in a private performance for serviceme ...

''. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Romanoff entered the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...

where he studied from 1947-1949. His teachers there included Milo Dolenzil (composition),

Jindřich Feld Jindřich Feld (February 19, 1925 in Prague, Czechoslovakia – July 8, 2007 in Prague, Czech Republic) was a Czech composer of classical music. Feld was born into a musical family, his father a well-known professor of violin at the Prague Con ...

(violin), and

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his man ...

(conducting). At the 1947

Prague Spring Festival The Prague Spring International Music Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní hudební festival Pražské jaro, commonly cs, Pražské jaro, Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras an ...

he conducted the

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

in performances of works by

Barbara Pentland Barbara Pentland C.M. (2 January 1912 – 5 February 2000) was one of the pre-eminent members of the generation of Canadian composers who came to artistic maturity in the years following World War Two. Life and career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba ...

Harry Somers Harry Stewart Somers, CC (September 11, 1925 – March 9, 1999) was a contemporary Canadian composer. Possessing a charismatic attitude and rather dashing good looks, as well as a genuine talent for his art, Somers earned the unofficial title ...

, and

John Weinzweig John Jacob Weinzweig, (March 11, 1913 – August 24, 2006) was a Canadian composer of classical music. Weinzweig was born in Toronto. He went to Harbord Collegiate Institute, and studied music at the university. In 1937, he left for the United ...

Career

In 1949 Romanoff returned to his native country and resumed working for the CBC. In 1950 he led a string ensemble for the

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 ...

program ''Continental Moods''. The following year he worked for a short time as a violist for the Solway String Quartet and served as music director for CBC Radio presentations of

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

's ''

May Night ''May Night'' ( rus, Майская ночь, Mayskaya noch ) is a comic opera in three acts, four scenes, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from a libretto by the composer and is based on Nikolai Gogol's story " May Night, or the Drowned Maiden", from hi ...

'' and C. Hulak-Artemowsky's ''The Cossack beyond the Danube''. In 1953 the CBC gave Romanoff his own radio show, ''Songs of My People'', which featured the "Ivan Romanoff Orchestra and Chorus". The program was presented weekly through 1963, after which Romanoff and his orchestra/chorus were featured on a series of other radio shows: ''Continental Holiday'' (1964, 1970-1972), ''Continental Rhapsody'' (1965-1970), ''The Music of Ivan Romanoff'' (1972-1973), and ''Music of Our People'' (1973-1976). Romanoff and his orchestra were also actively performing on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

, beginning with his program ''Rhapsody'' (1958-1959) which was the first multilingual folksong-and-dance program nationally broadcast on television in Canada. The group also performed on a number of TV specials during the 1960s. Romanoff continued to lead his orchestra in performances up until his retirement in 1983, touring throughout Canada and the United States and making more than 10 commercial albums, many of them for RCI Records. He died in Toronto in 1997 at the age of 83.

References

External Links

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Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanoff, Ivan 1914 births 1997 deaths Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni Canadian male composers Male conductors (music) Canadian classical violinists Canadian male violinists and fiddlers The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Musicians from Toronto 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian military musicians