Harold Sumberg (August 25, 1905 – January 6, 1994) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

ist,

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

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, and

adjudicator An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performan ...

.The Canadian Encyclopedia article on Harold Sumberg
/ref> Born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, he studied violin with Carl Markees,

Henry Holst Henry Holst (25 July 1899 – 19 October 1991) was a Danish violinist. In his early career he was leader of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. From the 1930s to the mid-1950s he was based in England, as a soloist and teac ...

, and Willy Hess at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin (now the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

). Sumberg taught for many years at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and founded the Conservatory String Quartet in 1929. He performed with the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...

as principal second violin (1931-1957) and then associate concertmaster (1961-1975). He performed as a soloist and collaborated with many important musicians, such as

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 ...

. In 1967 he recorded with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

on Ellington’s "North of the Border" album. He adjudicated at festivals including "Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers' Contest" 1955-84. Sumberg was also known for his collection of fine violin bows. He often played on a Collin-Mezin violin, though it was not the finest instrument in his collection, which may have been a superb violin bearing the label Lorenzo Guadagnini, on which he played for many years. He died in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1994. He was buried in the Mount Sinai Memorial Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumberg, Harold Canadian classical violinists Canadian male classical violinists 1905 births 1994 deaths Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin alumni 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers American emigrants to Canada Berlin University of the Arts alumni Concertmasters of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra