Robert Graham Manson (11 June 1883 – 14 February 1950) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-born musician. 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 ...

, one of four sons of James Alexander Manson (born 1852), a journalist and author. One of his brothers was

James Bolivar Manson James Bolivar Manson (26 June 1879 in London – 3 July 1945 in London)

(1879 - 1945) who was an artist and Director of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

in London from 1930 to 1938. Manson was a student at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

from January 1900 to December 1903. His tutors included

Arthur Somervell Sir Arthur Somervell (5 June 18632 May 1937) was an English composer and educationalist. After Hubert Parry, he was one of the most successful and influential writers of art song in the English music renaissance of the 1890s–1900s. According t ...

, Sir Frederick Bridge and Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. He played the violin, viola and piano. He went on to play in the string sections of the Scottish Orchestra and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

before emigrating to North America. Here he played in the

Cleveland Symphony Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

(Sokoloff, conductor) for two seasons, 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 ...

(

Frank Welsman Frank Squire Welsman (20 December 1873 – 2 July 1952) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer and music educator. He began his career as a concert pianist, but ultimately earned his place in Canadian history for establishing Toronto's f ...

, conductor) for three seasons and then went on to become leader of the Second Violins in the New Symphony Orchestra of Toronto (Dr Von Kunits, conductor). In 1913 he returned to England and served for four years in the British Expeditionary Force during the Great War, thereafter returning to Canada to continue his work with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he became a member of the Spivak String Quartet, formed and led by Eli Spivak (1902 - 1960), in which he played the viola. He was also a composer - his works including the Symphony in G Minor. This was first performed in the County Orange Hall, Toronto (date unknown) by about 50 members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under the conductorship of

Donald Heins Donald Heins (19 February 1878 – 1 January 1949) was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, organist, composer, and music educator of English birth. He notably founded the first professional orchestra in Ottawa, the Ottawa Symphony Orc ...

, Assistant Director of the TSO. His other compositions included An Atlantean Episode (tone poem for orchestra), Niagra (orchestra), Rhapsodie Canadienne (orchestra), Ukrainian Melodies (orchestra), Quintet in F major (wind instruments), Quartet in D major (string quartet) and Alouette (string quartet). Two of his compositions have been performed by the

. Rhapsodie Canadienne was performed in

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts auditorium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Although original ...

, Toronto on Tuesday evening, February 12 at 5.15pm, 1929 (Seventh Twilight Concert) in the Seventh Season 1928/29. Ukrainian Melodies was performed in

, Toronto on Tuesday evening, February 15 at 5.15pm. 1927 (Fifth Season, 1926/27) by the New Symphony Orchestra (pre-TSO). Manson died in Toronto on 14 February 1950.Obituary: Toronto Star, Thursday, February 16, 1950, page 28:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manson, Robert Graham English classical violinists British male classical violinists 20th-century British classical violinists English classical violists 1883 births 1950 deaths English emigrants to Canada Musicians from London London Symphony Orchestra players Players of the Cleveland Orchestra