North American orchestras and music fans mourn Bramwell Tovey, as former Vancouver Symphony Orchestra maestro dies at 69
Charismatic conductor and composer remembered as a “kind and generous man”
A TOWERING FIGURE in both Vancouver’s and the nation’s classical music scene has died.
Arts groups across North America are remembering Bramwell Tovey today. The beloved and charismatic longtime conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra passed away July 12 at 69. He is said to have died peacefully at home in Barrington, surrounded by family. He is survived by his partner, Verena De Neovel; children Ben, Jessica, and Emmeline; and grandchildren.
Tovey was a gifted conductor across classical and new music, ballet, and opera. He was also a prolific composer with a body of work spanning more than 40 years.
The Sarasota Orchestra, where he was about to begin his first season as music director, released a statement today that said Tovey was diagnosed in May 2019 with a rare form of sarcoma, and he underwent surgery at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in June 2021. The surgery “left him briefly cancer free. In January of this year, scans confirmed a re-occurrence from which he was ultimately unable to recover,” the statement said.
Tovey was musical director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for 18 years, stepping down from the position in 2018. In that time, he helped launch the VSO’s School of Music, which opened in 2011, and oversaw the opening of two attractive chamber-music spaces, Pyatt Hall and the Annex. He also kicked off a pair of festivals, one dedicated to new music and the other to the titanic figures of the near and distant past.
During his tenure, he grew audiences to unprecedented levels, won a Grammy Award, and led acclaimed international tours.
He last appeared with the orchestra as VSO Music Director Emeritus, joined by the great Yefim Bronfman, in November, for a performance Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto. In a video discussing the concert (see at bottom), Tovey remembered his years at the VSO, and living in Vancouver, as providing “some of the greatest memories of my life.”
“The world has lost an incredible musician, Maestro, educator, activist and giant of a human being. We at the VSO and the VSO School of Music are shattered and heartbroken,” said Angela Elster, president and CEO of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the VSO School of Music, in a statement today. “Bramwell Tovey’s legacy as Music Director of the VSO changed the landscape of music, arts and culture in British Columbia. For 18 years he was a valued friend and colleague, a driver of change and a unique person of brilliance, humor, generosity, and sincerity. As one of the key founders of the VSO School of Music, Maestro Tovey’s legacy lives on at the Tovey Centre for Music where the next generation of fine young musicians and music lovers are developing outstanding musicianship and artistic integrity. In all the many years I have known Bramwell I have witnessed his unwavering commitment to both music education and to artistic excellence—which he valued equally. His passing is an unthinkable loss to our sector, to the VSO and VSO School of Music, and to all whose lives he touched so deeply.”
“There are no words to describe the legacy that Maestro Tovey has left the city of Vancouver,” shared Etienne Bruson, board chair of the VSO. “His artistic vision has left a lasting impression on the orchestra, and his passion for music education will continue to live on through The Tovey Centre for Music at the VSO School of Music, and future generations of students and music lovers. Our thoughts are with his family, the musicians of the VSO, and all those whose lives have been transformed by his generosity and inspirational leadership.”
Tovey had arrived in Vancouver after a successful 12-year run as music director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
In 2017, the VSO’s outgoing music director was named director of orchestral activities for the prestigious Boston University School of Music. Tovey was the Principal Conductor of the B.B.C. Concert Orchestra, based in London, U.K., and since September 2018 he had also been artistic advisor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Prior to his death, Tania Miller was named the philharmonic's interim principal conductor. The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2022-23 season will be dedicated to Tovey's memory.
“We are all heartbroken,” the RI Philharmonic executive director David Beauchesne said today in a statement. “Bramwell Tovey was a dear friend and colleague, and a person of uncommon ability, warmth, humor, sincerity and kindness. The youngest student and most revered guest artist received the same level of his care and attention. His death is a profound loss to our organization and community, and to musicians and audiences around the globe."
In January 2019 he assumed the role of artistic director of Calgary Opera, and had planned the company's seasons for 2020/21 and 2021/22—forced to relinquish the position for health reasons.
He had guest conducted for some of the leading orchestras on the planet, including the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston, Chicago, Melbourne and Sydney Symphonies.
Bramwell had also worked with many leading international choirs, including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Huddersfield Choral Society, the Amadeus Choir of Toronto, the Melbourne Symphony Chorus, the Pacific Chorale, and the Canadian Mennonite Festival Choir.
At the time of his death, Mr. Tovey was in the midst of composing a violin concerto commissioned by the NAC Orchestra for Ehnes. The National Arts Centre announced today that it would be flying its Canadian flag at half mast.
“Bramwell Tovey enriched Canada’s cultural life in so many ways,” said Christopher Deacon, president and CEO of the National Arts Centre in a statement today. “He was a visionary who championed Canadian composers, and strengthened the orchestras he led to become a central part of the identity of the cities they worked in. Our most sincere condolences to his loved ones.”
“Bramwell was a kind and generous man who built a remarkable musical career across continents,” said Alexander Shelley, musical director of the NAC Orchestra. “His tireless work nurturing the next generation of Canadian musicians has inspired me and many others. He will be missed.”
His Requiem for a Charred Skull won the 2003 JUNO award for Best Classical Composition. His opera The Inventor, written with playwright John Murrell, was commissioned by Calgary Opera and recorded by the original cast with the Vancouver Symphony and UBC Opera for CD release. His trumpet concerto Songs of the Paradise Saloon was commissioned by the Toronto Symphony for their principal trumpet player, Andrew McCandless.
Born in the East London, Tovey had famously grown up as a tuba and piano player—even performing in Salvation Army bands early in his musical career. As a music student, he conducted broadcasts on the BBC; he also played in the London Symphony Orchestra at the Salzburg Festival.
That love of music, and music education for the young, never waned. Tovey was a regular fixture during his tenure here at the Day of Music, passionately advocating for elementary school training that was axed during budget cuts.
The Bramwell Tovey Memorial Fund has been established to continue the maestro’s important work in the community. Donations in his honour may be made online at https://vancouversymphony.ca/bramwell or by phone at 604-876-3434.
The VSO has said it will announce further plans later.
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