Richard James Bradshaw (26 April 1944 – 15 August 2007) was a British opera conductor and the General Director of the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

(COC) in Toronto.

Early life and education

Bradshaw was born in

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, its population was 78,117, making it the List of Warwickshire towns by population, secon ...

, England. He grew up in Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire, where he began taking piano lessons when he was eight years old, and played the organ at his church when he was twelve. Bradshaw received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with honours in English from

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1965. He studied conducting with

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

.Derek Shore. "Richard Bradshaw, 63".
Billboard
'. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.; 13 October 2007.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit to uniquely identify a periodical publication (periodical), such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs a ...

&nbs
0006-2510
p. 92.

Career

In 1971, Bradshaw conducted several concerts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1975 to 1977, Bradshaw was the Chorus Director at the

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

. From 1977 to 1989, he was Chorus Director and Resident Conductor at

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

. In 1988, he was a guest conductor of the Canadian Opera Company. In 1989, he was appointed Chief Conductor and Head of Music. In 1993 he conducted the company's production of Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" and Schoenberg's "Erwartung", which toured to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and to the Edinburgh International Festival. In 1994, he was appointed Artistic Director and General Director in 1998. At the COC, he conducted more than 60 operas as well as leading the orchestra in concerts. In 2004, he was made a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

for having "brought the COC international acclaim, including a first-ever invitation to the Edinburgh Festival, garnering two prestigious awards". In 2006, Bradshaw received the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. It was also that year that saw the opening of the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift ...

. In September of that year, Bradshaw and the COC opened the season with three complete performances of Wagner's

Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

, becoming the first conductor since

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

himself to inaugurate an opera house with a complete Ring. He continued to conduct the COC orchestra until his death the following year.

Death and legacy

On 15 August 2007, at age 63, Bradshaw died after collapsing from an apparent heart attack while at

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

. He left a wife Diana, daughter Jenny, and son James. The Richard Bradshaw Fellowship in Opera at the University of Toronto was founded in his name, and Toronto's Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre was named for him. A prize in his name was presented at the Canadian International Organ Competition in Montreal in 2008."Montreal plays a fine host for organists"
''Toronto Star'', Oct. 25, 2008

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradshaw, Richard 1944 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the University of London English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Members of the Order of Ontario People from Rugby, Warwickshire Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music 20th-century British musicologists 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians Governor General's Award winners