David Zafer (April 2, 1934 – April 20, 2019) was a Canadian
violinist and pedagogue.
He was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and moved to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in 1947.
Background
David Zafer studied with Elie Spivak and
Albert Pratz at
The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. From 1966 to 1999 he was a Professor of
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
in the Faculty of Music at
the University of Toronto,
where he became
professor emeritus.
Zafer performed with the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1956 to 1959, the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as assistant concertmaster 1960-61, and orchestra of the
National Ballet of Canada as concertmaster from 1961 to 1964.
He founded the Chamber Orchestra at the University of Toronto, and directed it until his retirement.
David Zafer gave master classes in schools such as the Menuhin School in Surrey (England), the Meadowmount
Summer School, the
University of British Columbia, and
Rice University in
Houston, Texas. Also he directed the European Seminary of Strings in
Budapest and he has given master lessons in
Prague.
In 1998, Mr. Zafer conducted the Real Chamber Orchestra of Seoul (Korea) and this concert was nationally televised there. For 25 years he has been titular
conductor and violin professor of the
Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and he has made tours with this orchestra to the Young Orchestras Festivals in
Aberdeen, Scotland,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and
Banff.
In 1997, he recorded a CD with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra during a
live performance in the Ford Center for the Performing Arts of Toronto. At the present time, he gives private classes and he continues to perform with different orchestras and
chamber music groups and at various festivals.
His later project was the Toronto Chamber Youth Orchestra, of very recent creation.
References
External links
David Zafer's Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zafer, David
2019 deaths
1934 births
20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers
21st-century Canadian conductors (music)
21st-century Canadian male musicians
21st-century Canadian classical violinists
Canadian music educators
Canadian male violinists and fiddlers
Canadian male classical violinists
Canadian male conductors (music)
Toronto Symphony Orchestra members
Concertmasters