Ezra Schabas, (April 24, 1924 – October 12, 2020) was a Canadian musician, educator and author. He was active in Canada's musical life beginning in 1952, when he emigrated from

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

with his family. During his time in Canada, he was a leading musical educator, clarinetist, and administrator in Toronto's musical institutions. He wrote several books on Canadian and American musical history, and he was appointed to 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 ...

and made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Early life and education

Schabas was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in April 1924 to Jewish parents, Minnie Anker and Hyman Schabas.Ezra Schabas obituary
/ref> He attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

for clarinet, where he studied with clarinetist Arthur Christmann. The interruption of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

led Schabas to leave

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

in 1943 with an Artist Diploma to serve with the US Army forces in France and Germany. While overseas, he attended the Nancy Conservatory before returning to New York City in 1946. Upon his return, Schabas completed his Bachelor of Science at

in 1947, followed by a Master of Arts at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1948. For the next few years, he studied in a variety of places, including the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

in Rochester, NY, the

American Conservatory The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''. History When the American Expeditionary Forces entered the First World War, the command ...

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

, France, as well as clarinet in New York with

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best-known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nov ...

and in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with Gaston Hamelin. Between 1948 and 1950, he taught at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

and from 1950 to 1952 at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, before moving to Toronto to be a freelance clarinetist and concert manager at the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...

. He became a Canadian citizen in 1967.

Career

After relocating to Toronto in 1952, Schabas became a director of the

, one of Canada's most esteemed music education institutions that has trained artists including

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

and

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

. During his eight-year tenure at the Conservatory and afterwards, Schabas's clarinet pupils included Brian Barley, Paul Grice, Howard Knopf, Timothy Maloney, Peter Smith, and Patricia Wait. As a concert manager, he helped find engagements for young artists such as

Jon Vickers Jonathan Stewart Vickers, (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a s ...

and Lois Marshall. In 1960, Schabas helped to found the

National Youth Orchestra of Canada The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada, or NYOC, ) is a Canadian youth orchestra headquartered in Toronto. The orchestra has given concert tours in every major Canadian city as well as trips to other countries, including the United Sta ...

, a musical organization dedicated to discovering and nurturing talented young Canadian musicians, and he was the Orchestra's first administrator. That same year, he was appointed to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

's faculty of music. He became the head of the performance and opera department from 1968 to 1978. In 1966, the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

and the Ontario Federation of Symphony Orchestras commissioned him to report on Ontario Orchestras, which subsequently served as a blueprint for Ontario's orchestral development for the next thirty years. Schabas collaborated with the Ontario Arts Council again in 1968 to establish the University of Toronto Conductors' Workshop. In 1972, Schabas was one of the founders of Orchestras Canada and was elected its first president. Having continued teaching at the Faculty of Music and Royal Conservatory of Music throughout his time at the National Youth Orchestra and Orchestras Canada, in 1978 Schabas was made Principal of the Conservatory, a position he held until 1983. During his time as Principal, he developed training programs for gifted children and pre-university teenagers. In 1980, he launched the Orchestral Training Program for professional musicians at the Conservatory, which received funding from Employment and Immigration Canada to help young Canadians find work in Canadian orchestras. That same year, he founded the Association of Colleges and Conservatories of Music, serving as its first president from 1980 to 1984. Schabas followed up his time as Principal by returning to the University of Toronto's faculty of music in 1983, only to retire the following year. In 1985, he was named professor emeritus. From 1987 to 1990, Schabas again drew upon funding from Employment and Immigration Canada, the Ontario Arts Council and the Association of Canadian Orchestras to direct "Musical Performance and Communication." This unique professional training program at the University of Toronto sought to help classical musicians find new and better ways of attracting and communicating with audiences.

Musician and author

Not only a teacher and administrator, Schabas performed and conducted in Canada, the United States and overseas. He worked as a freelance clarinetist for the CBC Orchestra until 1960 and played in a number of ensembles around Toronto, including the Toronto Woodwind Quintet from 1956 to 1960. As an educator, he spoke at conferences in Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US and was a frequent consultant and juror for the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study a ...

, the Ontario Arts Council, and Canadian Heritage, among others. He wrote three biographies on musicians and two on musical institutions, winning the 1995 City of Toronto Annual Book Award for ''Sir Ernest MacMillan: The Importance of Being Canadian''. From 1996 to 1998, he also acted as president of

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto is a private members' club in Toronto, Ontario, which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors and others working in or with a love of the arts and letters. It was foun ...

and in 2000 was elected director-general of the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music.

Personal life

Schabas lived in Toronto and was married to Ann (Fairley) Schabas, the former dean of the Faculty of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Toronto. She is the daughter of

Margaret Fairley Margaret Adele Fairley born Margaret Adele Keeling (1885–1968) was a British-born Canadian writer, educator, and political activist. From 1936 until her death, she was a member of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC). She was deported from the US ...

, a notable Canadian activist and writer, and

Barker Fairley Barker Fairley, (May 21, 1887 – October 11, 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, and scholar who made a significant contribution to the study of German literature, particularly for the work of Goethe, and was an early champion and frien ...

, a well-respected Canadian artist and German literature scholar. They had five children: academic

William Schabas William Anthony Schabas, OC (born 19 November 1950) is a Canadian academic specialising in international criminal and human rights law. He is professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of internation ...

, former Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Richard Schabas, academic Margaret Schabas, transportation executive Michael Schabas and Ontario Supreme Court Justice Paul Schabas. He had twelve grandchildren, including the novelist and Globe and Mail dance critic Martha Schabas, and eleven great-grandchildren. He died in Toronto, Ontario in October 2020 at the age of 96.

Awards

Schabas was awarded the

Canadian Centennial Medal The Canadian Centennial Medal () is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation and was awarded to Canadians who were recommended by government, professional, ...

in 1967, appointed to the Order of Ontario in 1996, and made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000. In 2002, he was appointed a Fellow (''Honoris Causa'') of the Royal Conservatory of Music, was presented with the

Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was ...

by the Governor General, and made a lifetime member of the Toronto Musicians Association. In 2012, he received the

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal may refer to: * Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal (1897) * Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal ...

Books

*1989:
Theodore Thomas: America's Conductor and Builder of Orchestras, 1835-1905
', Champaign: University of Illinois Press; *1994:
Sir Ernest MacMillan: The Importance of Being Canadian
', Toronto: University of Toronto Press, (awarded the City of Toronto annual award, 1995). *2000:
Opera Viva: The Canadian Opera Company; The First Fifty Years
', co-authored with Carl Morey, Toronto: Dundurn Press, *2005:
There's Music In These Walls: A History of the Royal Conservatory of Music
', Toronto: Dundurn Press, *2007:
Jan Rubes: A Man of Many Talents
', Toronto: Dundurn Press,

References

External links

Ezra Schabas archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schabas, Ezra 1924 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Musicians from New York City Musicians from Toronto Canadian music historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario American emigrants to Canada United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from New York City Jewish American academics Jewish American historians Jewish American musicians Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish Canadian musicians Jewish Canadian writers Juilliard School alumni Columbia University alumni Eastman School of Music alumni American Conservatory alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Case Western Reserve University faculty Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music Writers from New York City Writers from Toronto