Thomas Rolston (born October 31, 1932, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

- died May 29, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia) was a Canadian violinist and conductor. After early studies with Douglas Stewart, Roman Totenberg and David Martin, Rolston was a member of the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

(1951–1958). He was

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

and (1958–1960) and Associate Conductor (1960–1964) of the

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to co ...

. He taught at the University of Alberta in Edmonton until 1979, when he became the first director of music at the

Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 193 ...

and where he was head of the string department as well as both the centre's music co-ordinator and music director, overseeing the centre's summer programs until his retirement in 2004. He created the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, introduced the Suzuki method of violin instruction to Canada, and founded the Society for Talent Education in 1964. Between 1988 and 1991, he taught at the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

.Calgary Herald, June 4, 2010 - Banff Centre Mainstay Rolston Dies
Calgary Herald website, retrieved 2010-06-04.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolston, Tom 1932 births 2010 deaths Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian male classical violinists Musicians from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian classical violinists 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Concertmasters Players of the Philharmonia Orchestra