Hans Gruber (11 July 1925 – 6 August 2001) was a Canadian

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

of Austrian birth. Born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Gruber became a naturalised Canadian citizen in 1944. He entered

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 as The Toronto C ...

in 1939 where he was a conducting student of Allard de Ridder. He also studied conducting in the summers at the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

from 1943-1947 with such teachers as Fritz Mahler,

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, and

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1 ...

. In 1948 he succeeded Melvin Knudsen as the conductor of the Victoria Symphony, a post he held until 1963. He also served on the music faculty of 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 ...

for several years where he notably conducted the school's symphony orchestra.

References

1925 births 2001 deaths Canadian male conductors (music) The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians Austrian emigrants to Canada {{conductor-stub