Bramwell Tovey (11 July 1953 – 12 July 2022) was a British conductor and composer.

Life and career

Tovey was educated at Ilford County High School, the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

and the

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 ...

. His formal music education was as a pianist and composer. Whilst at the Royal Academy, he also became a tuba player, studying with John Fletcher. During his student years he conducted several broadcasts on the BBC, and also played in the London Symphony Orchestra at the Salzburg Festival.Artist Biographies, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Gala Programme Book,

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

, 30 April 1985, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, no page numbers. Tovey was appointed a staff conductor of

London Festival Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Alicia Markova, Dame Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin (ballet dancer), Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham ...

at the age of 22, working with

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...

on a production of ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'', Ronald Hynd on '' Nutcracker'' and '' Sanguine Fan'' and with

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

on ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. In 1978 he became Music Director of Scottish Ballet, conducting Peter Darrell's major ballets including ''Cheri'' and '' Five Rückert Songs'' (with Janet Baker). From 1984 to 1988 he was Principal Conductor of

Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

.Artist Biographies, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Season Programme Booklet,

, December 1988. During this period he also conducted several British orchestras and appeared as pianist in '' Elite Syncopations''. Tovey conducted the first season of the revived D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1988. Between 1989 and 2001, he was the

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and was instrumental in establishing the city's annual New Music Festival, which began in 1992. Tovey became

of the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

(VSO) in September 2000. His initial contract was renewed in December 2004, and extended again in January 2010 to 2015. In November 2013, the VSO announced the further extension of Tovey's contract through the 2017–2018 season, and the scheduled conclusion of his music directorship of the VSO at that time. Tovey was scheduled to take the title of VSO music director emeritus with the 2018–2019 season, the VSO's 100th season. In December 2009, Tovey and the VSO rejected an invitation to play at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver, after the Vancouver Organizing Committee requested that the orchestra pre-record music that other musicians and a different conductor would mime to at the televised event. Tovey remarked that the plan was "dishonest" and "fraudulent." Tovey was music director of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002 to 2006, during which time he led it on tours to Europe, the Far East and to the eastern United States; in 2005 he conducted them in the world premiere of Penderecki's 8th Symphony. In November 2017, the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

announced the appointment of Tovey as its next principal conductor, effective January 2018, with an initial contract of 5 years. Tovey conducted the "Summertime Classics" series of concerts with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

since the inception of the series in the summer of 2004, after his 2001 subscription debut with the orchestra, through the conclusion of the series in 2014. Tovey was appointed Artistic Director of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and conducted his first course in April 2006. He had a long-standing affiliation with the Fodens Brass Band and conducted a CD of his compositions with the Foden's Band, released in May 2009. In March 2008, Tovey was named the next principal guest conductor of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

summer concerts. Tovey was also known as a composer. His compositions include a Cello Concerto (premiered in Winnipeg in January 2001), and a work for a large choir and brass band, 'Requiem for a Charred Skull', which in 2003 was awarded a Juno for Classical Composition of the Year. Tovey also composed the

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

, recorded by the VSO, for Richard Bell's film '' Eighteen''. The full score was released on iTunes. Tovey was nominated for a Genie Award (Canada's Academy Award), in tandem with Bell, for a song in the film called "In a Heartbeat", which was performed by Thea Gill. On commission from the 2005 British Open Brass Band Championship, Tovey composed 'The Night to Sing' as the test piece, inspired by the celebrations of VE Day, 1945. In 2007, Calgary Opera commissioned a new opera from Tovey, titled ''The Inventor'' and premiered by Calgary Opera in January 2011. Tovey was involved with numerous television and radio programmes related to music. He conducted ''Cinderella'' with Scottish Ballet for ITV and '' Daphnis et Chloé'' for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and two television programmes with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He has been the recipient of four honorary doctorates – Winnipeg (1994), Manitoba (1999), Kwantlen University College (2004) and the University of British Columbia. He was an honorary Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (2006) and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England (2006). In October 2016, Tovey made his stage debut in an opera, taking the speaking role of The Impresario in the City Opera of Vancouver premiere of the comedy 'The Lost Operas of Mozart' at Christ Church Cathedral. In September 2017, Tovey took up the post of Director of Orchestral Activities at the Boston University School of Music. In September 2018, Tovey became artistic advisor to the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. In December 2021, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra announced a change in Tovey's title with the ensemble to principal conductor and artistic director, and in parallel an extension of his contract through August 2026. Tovey first guest-conducted the Sarasota Orchestra in the 2019–2020 season, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, the Sarasota Orchestra announced the appointment of Tovey as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season, with an initial tenure of four years. He was scheduled to take the title of music director-designate on 1 September 2021.

Personal life

Tovey was married three times. His first marriage in 1982 was to the British oboist Jane Marshall. His second marriage, which also ended in divorce, resulted in a son, Ben, once guitarist for the metal band Rise To Remain. Tovey and his third wife had two daughters. Verena de Neovel was his partner at the time of his death. He died of a

sarcoma A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Originating from mesenchymal cells means that sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, or vascular tissues. Sarcom ...

on 12 July 2022 at his home in

Barrington, Rhode Island Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, approximately southeast of Providence. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 17,153. Barrington was founded by Congregationalist separ ...

, one day after his 69th birthday.

Works

References

External links

Official Bramwell Tovey website

Biography Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

AllMusic.com biography of Bramwell Tovey

Agency Biography (IMG Artists LLC)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tovey, Bramwell 1953 births 2022 deaths Deaths from cancer in Rhode Island Deaths from sarcoma 21st-century British classical composers 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century English male musicians Brass band composers British male conductors (music) English classical composers English conductors (music) English male classical composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music Grammy Award winners Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners Members of the Order of Manitoba Officers of the Order of Canada People educated at Ilford County High School People from Ilford English emigrants to Canada English emigrants to the United States Music directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Principal conductors of the BBC Concert Orchestra