Simon Nicolas Streatfeild (5 October 1929 – 7 December 2019) was a British-Canadian

violist The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...

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 ...

and teacher. Simon Nicolas Streatfeild was born in

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The town is situated we ...

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 ...

in 1929. He studied viola with

Frederick Riddle Frederick Craig Riddle OBE (20 April 19125 February 1995) was a British violist. He was considered to be in the line from Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, through to the violists of today such as Lawrence Power. Early life and career Frederi ...

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 1946 to 1950.The Canadian Encyclopedia: Simon Streatfeild
/ref> He then played with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

and Royal Opera Orchestra, Covent Garden, became Principal Viola with the Sadler's Wells Orchestra (1953–55) 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 ...

(1956–1965),Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
/ref> and was a founding member of the

Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy of St. M ...

(1958–1965). He moved to Canada, where he played various roles with the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

from 1965 to 1977: Principal Viola, Assistant Conductor, acting Music Director, and Associate Conductor. Streatfeild was conductor of the Vancouver Bach Choir from 1969 to 1981. From 1977 to 1981 he was a visiting professor at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. He led the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the Regina Orchestral Society in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the Regina Choral and Orchestral Society in 1 ...

1981–1984, overlapping the last year with his new post as conductor of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (QSO) in July 1983, succeeding

James DePreist James Anderson DePreist (November 21, 1936 – February 8, 2013) was an American conductor. DePreist was one of the first African-American conductors on the world stage. He was the director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at ...

and he left the QSO in 1991 over artistic differences. During his tenure the orchestra made its

Toronto 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 ...

debut and its first commercial recordings. He was also conductor of the

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Meas ...

(MCO) 1982–2000. In 1983 he led the MCO in the world premiere of Michael Matthews's work ''Between the Wings of the Earth''. In 2000 Streatfeild served as principal guest conductor and artistic advisor for

Symphony Nova Scotia Symphony Nova Scotia is a Canadian orchestra based in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Its primary recital venue is at the Dalhousie Arts Centre's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. History Symphony Nova Scotia began in 1983 ...

. He regularly guest conducted in Canada, the US, the UK and Europe, and other places. He was Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

for ten years, where he was also Professor of Orchestral Conducting. His recordings included music by

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

, Honegger,

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

and others. In 1987 Streatfeild received a Canadian Music Council Medal for outstanding service to music in Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Streatfeild, Simon 2019 deaths 1929 births English classical violists Canadian classical violists English male conductors (music) Canadian male conductors (music) British music educators Canadian music educators People from Windsor, Berkshire British emigrants to Canada 20th-century British violists 20th-century Canadian violists 20th-century English male musicians 21st-century English male musicians 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century English conductors (music) 21st-century English conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) Players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Players of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House London Symphony Orchestra players Players of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra