Boris Brott
Encyclopedia
Boris Brott, OC
, O.Ont
(born March 14, 1944) is a Canadian
conductor and motivational speaker.
Born in Montreal
, the son of violinist and composer Alexander Brott
and cellist Lotte Brott, and brother of cellist Denis Brott.
Boris Brott is one of the most internationally-recognized Canadian conductors. He has conducted on stages around the world—from Carnegie Hall
to Covent Garden
. Charismatic and innovative, he is fiercely dedicated to the musical education of young people and innovative methods of introducing classical music to new audiences. Over his career, he has been devoted to the promulgation of Canadian musical talent and has commissioned, performed and recorded countless Canadian works.
In 2011 Brott was named Principal Guest Conductor of the historic Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, Italy. Brott is Founding Music Director and Conductor Laureate of the New West Symphony
in Los Angeles
, the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal
and was Principal Youth & Family conductor with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in ttawa, Ontario|Ottawa], where he had guest conducted for 40 years and continues as such with an emphasis on family and education concerts.
with his father, Alexander Brott, and performed at the age of five with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
at a young peoples’ matinee. He took courses at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and the McGill Conservatory, and in 1956 studied conducting at the summer school of Pierre Monteux, who engaged him as assistant for concerts in Europe. He next studied with Igor Markevitch and won first prize at the 1958 Pan-American conducting competition. In 1959, at the age of 15, he founded the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of Montreal and led it in his conducting debut in that city. His first international success came in June 1962, when he won third prize at the Liverpool Competition. He served 1963-5 as the assistant conductor of Walter Susskind with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and then embarked on a career in England as conductor of the Northern Sinfonia at Newcastle-on-Tyne (1964-8). He made several tours with this chamber orchestra, among which was one in Canada, which included concerts at Expo 67. Concurrently, (1964-7), Brott was principal conductor for the touring company of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden. During the 1965-6 season at Covent Garden he conducted the Royal Ballet's first production at that theatre of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (1966) and toured the production in Britain. He won first prize and a gold medal at the sixth Dimitri Mitropoulos International Music Competition in 1968 and served 1968-9 as assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Brott was named one of Canada's Outstanding Young Men in 1969 and 1973 by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.In 1972 Brott was appointed conductor of the BBC Welsh Orchestra
) 1967-72 and the Regina Symphony Orchestra 1971-3. From 1969 to 1990 he was artistic director and conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra; under his leadership the orchestra grew from an amateur ensemble to a professional one with a 42-week season and 16,000 subscribers. The orchestra also gave birth to the Canadian Brass
. It was during his tenure at the HPO that Hamilton enjoyed a cultural renaissance of sorts, moving quickly ahead of its dominant image as a steeltown. Brott and the HPO made international headlines and front pages when he became the first conductor to lead an orchestra in the middle of a steel factory blast furnace in the heart of Hamilton's industrial core at Dofasco Inc.- now Arcelor Mittal. He gained a reputation as a fearless, charismatic maestro who brought visual elements, ballet dancers, Shakespearean actors, film, rock groups, even astronauts to the stages of classical music concerts. In 1975, he assumed directorship of the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra
. From 1982 to 1985 he was artistic director of Symphony Nova Scotia. He led the Ontario Place Pops Orchestra 1983-1991. In 1977 he had made his opera debut, conducting Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment for the COC. Brott later directed Opera Hamilton and guest-conducted with the Canadian Opera Company and Sadler's Wells Opera. Brott became music director of the New West Symphony, California, in 1995; in 2002, he took over leadership of the McGill Chamber Orchestra.
1992-5, and in 1995 began giving motivational seminars to Fortune 500 companies using symphonic music as a metaphor. Brott has produced, conducted, or hosted a large number of television and radio programs for the CBC, and the BBC and ITV in the UK, and recorded with various orchestras for CBC, Mercury, Pro-Arte and Sony Classical.
In 1988, he founded the Brott Music Festival
, which has since become Canada's largest orchestral music festival. It is a cultural cornerstone in Hamilton and surrounding areas for the months of July and August. From that, he created the National Academy Orchestra of Canada
, recognized in 1999 as a National School by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The NAO pairs music graduates pursuing a career with professional musicians from across North America's finest orchestras in a mentor-apprentice relationship. It is Canada's only professional training orchestra and its nearly 1,000 graduates have gone on to perform and teach worldwide.
for an audience which included the late Pope John Paul II
.
In 1986, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
. In 2006, he was made a member of the Order of Ontario
.
In May, 2006 he was voted one of the top five Greatest Hamiltonians of all time by Hamilton Spectator readers. In 2007, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Tourism Hamilton and was also awarded Canada's National Child Day award in Ottawa for his lifelong dedication to introducing classical music to over 1 million schoolchildren over his career to date. Also in 2007, he received the City of Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Arts Award.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, O.Ont
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
(born March 14, 1944) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
conductor and motivational speaker.
Born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, the son of violinist and composer Alexander Brott
Alexander Brott
Alexander Brott, , born Joël Brod, , was a Canadian conductor, composer, violinist and music teacher. His wife Lotte was an accomplished cellist...
and cellist Lotte Brott, and brother of cellist Denis Brott.
Boris Brott is one of the most internationally-recognized Canadian conductors. He has conducted on stages around the world—from Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
to Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
. Charismatic and innovative, he is fiercely dedicated to the musical education of young people and innovative methods of introducing classical music to new audiences. Over his career, he has been devoted to the promulgation of Canadian musical talent and has commissioned, performed and recorded countless Canadian works.
Current positions
He is the founder and artistic director of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Canada's only professional training orchestra and the Brott Music Festival, the country's largest orchestral music festival. Both are based in Hamilton, Ontario and are nearly 25 years old.In 2011 Brott was named Principal Guest Conductor of the historic Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, Italy. Brott is Founding Music Director and Conductor Laureate of the New West Symphony
New West Symphony
The New West Symphony is one of several regional professional symphony orchestras in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1995 to succeed two orchestras that ceased operations...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and was Principal Youth & Family conductor with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in ttawa, Ontario|Ottawa], where he had guest conducted for 40 years and continues as such with an emphasis on family and education concerts.
Early life and emerging career
Boris Jeremiah Brott was born into a musical family in Montreal in 1944. He studied violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
with his father, Alexander Brott, and performed at the age of five with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
at a young peoples’ matinee. He took courses at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and the McGill Conservatory, and in 1956 studied conducting at the summer school of Pierre Monteux, who engaged him as assistant for concerts in Europe. He next studied with Igor Markevitch and won first prize at the 1958 Pan-American conducting competition. In 1959, at the age of 15, he founded the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of Montreal and led it in his conducting debut in that city. His first international success came in June 1962, when he won third prize at the Liverpool Competition. He served 1963-5 as the assistant conductor of Walter Susskind with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and then embarked on a career in England as conductor of the Northern Sinfonia at Newcastle-on-Tyne (1964-8). He made several tours with this chamber orchestra, among which was one in Canada, which included concerts at Expo 67. Concurrently, (1964-7), Brott was principal conductor for the touring company of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden. During the 1965-6 season at Covent Garden he conducted the Royal Ballet's first production at that theatre of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (1966) and toured the production in Britain. He won first prize and a gold medal at the sixth Dimitri Mitropoulos International Music Competition in 1968 and served 1968-9 as assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Brott was named one of Canada's Outstanding Young Men in 1969 and 1973 by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.In 1972 Brott was appointed conductor of the BBC Welsh Orchestra
Development of Canadian Orchestras
Brott directed the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra (Thunder Bay Symphony OrchestraThunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in the Community Auditorium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on 29 November 1960 as the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra, debuting at the Lakeview High School auditorium...
) 1967-72 and the Regina Symphony Orchestra 1971-3. From 1969 to 1990 he was artistic director and conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra; under his leadership the orchestra grew from an amateur ensemble to a professional one with a 42-week season and 16,000 subscribers. The orchestra also gave birth to the Canadian Brass
Canadian Brass
The Canadian Brass is a brass quintet founded by Dr. Charles Daellenbach and Gene Watts in 1970. In addition to maintaining a heavy international touring schedule, the Canadian Brass have recorded over 80 CDs and DVDs...
. It was during his tenure at the HPO that Hamilton enjoyed a cultural renaissance of sorts, moving quickly ahead of its dominant image as a steeltown. Brott and the HPO made international headlines and front pages when he became the first conductor to lead an orchestra in the middle of a steel factory blast furnace in the heart of Hamilton's industrial core at Dofasco Inc.- now Arcelor Mittal. He gained a reputation as a fearless, charismatic maestro who brought visual elements, ballet dancers, Shakespearean actors, film, rock groups, even astronauts to the stages of classical music concerts. In 1975, he assumed directorship of the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra
CBC Winnipeg Orchestra
The CBC Winnipeg Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 37 years. The orchestra mainly performed on CBC Radio, but also occasionally performed live concerts in Winnipeg. It was established in 1947 under the...
. From 1982 to 1985 he was artistic director of Symphony Nova Scotia. He led the Ontario Place Pops Orchestra 1983-1991. In 1977 he had made his opera debut, conducting Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment for the COC. Brott later directed Opera Hamilton and guest-conducted with the Canadian Opera Company and Sadler's Wells Opera. Brott became music director of the New West Symphony, California, in 1995; in 2002, he took over leadership of the McGill Chamber Orchestra.
Opera Conducting
A regular guest conducting schedule in Italy ramped up for Brott in the 21st century. He embarked on a notable guest conducting schedule at Italy's famed opera halls, including the Teatro Petruzzelli, the Arena di Verona and the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste.Law School and Motivational Speechmaking
Brott studied law at the University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
1992-5, and in 1995 began giving motivational seminars to Fortune 500 companies using symphonic music as a metaphor. Brott has produced, conducted, or hosted a large number of television and radio programs for the CBC, and the BBC and ITV in the UK, and recorded with various orchestras for CBC, Mercury, Pro-Arte and Sony Classical.
Founding of Brott Music Festival and National Academy Orchestra of Canada
Brott Music Festival
Founded in 1988 by conductor Boris Brott, the Brott Music Festival presents annual classical, jazz, chamber, pops, multidisciplinary and education concerts throughout the greater Hamilton, Ontario region in Canada...
, which has since become Canada's largest orchestral music festival. It is a cultural cornerstone in Hamilton and surrounding areas for the months of July and August. From that, he created the National Academy Orchestra of Canada
National Academy Orchestra of Canada
The National Academy Orchestra of Canada is a professional training orchestra primarily based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1989 by conductor Boris Brott, it is recognized as a Canadian National School for professional training, and each winter over 400 potential apprentices audition...
, recognized in 1999 as a National School by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The NAO pairs music graduates pursuing a career with professional musicians from across North America's finest orchestras in a mentor-apprentice relationship. It is Canada's only professional training orchestra and its nearly 1,000 graduates have gone on to perform and teach worldwide.
Recent honours
In 2000, he received international attention when he conducted the historic first performance of Bernstein's Mass in Vatican CityVatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
for an audience which included the late Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
In 1986, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. In 2006, he was made a member of the Order of Ontario
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
.
In May, 2006 he was voted one of the top five Greatest Hamiltonians of all time by Hamilton Spectator readers. In 2007, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Tourism Hamilton and was also awarded Canada's National Child Day award in Ottawa for his lifelong dedication to introducing classical music to over 1 million schoolchildren over his career to date. Also in 2007, he received the City of Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Arts Award.