Toronto Philharmonic Society

The Toronto Philharmonic Society was one of the first secular music organizations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Society included both singers and instrumentalists.[1]

History

The Society was founded in 1845 by John McCaul, who was at the time president of King's College.[2] It became inactive in the late 1860s, but was revived in 1872 by McCaul and organist James P. Clarke, who became its conductor.[3][4][5] Under his leadership the Society presented Handel's Messiah at Shaftesbury Hall in 1873, with more than 150 voices.[4]

Frederick Torrington took over as conductor later that year, and the group went on to perform many oratorios, including premiers of Canadian works.[3] The Society also performed both vocal and instrumental classical music and selections from operas.[6] Most of the performances took place at Shaftesbury Hall and at the Horticultural Pavilion in Allan Gardens,[7] and many of the pieces performed had not been heard in Canada before.[1]

References
  1. Conyngham Crawford Taylor (1886). Toronto "called Back", from 1886-1850: Its Wonderful Growth and Grogress Especially as an Importing Centre, with the Development of Its Manufacturing Industries and Reminiscences ... 1864 to 1886 ... Conyngham Crawford Taylor. pp. 279, 286 – via Google Books.
  2. Mary E. Hughes (2006). Frank Welsman: Canadian Conductor. Trafford Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4120-8856-5.
  3. Richard S. Warren; Richard Warren (2002). Begins with the Oboe: A History of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. University of Toronto Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8020-3588-2.
  4. Howard E. Smither (1 September 2012). A History of the Oratorio: Vol. 4: The Oratorio in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. UNC Press Books. p. 413. ISBN 978-0-8078-3778-8.
  5. Ladislav Cselenyi-Granch (15 October 1996). Under the Sign of the Big Fiddle: The R.S. Williams Family, Manufacturers and Collectors of Musical Instruments. Dundurn. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4597-2745-8.
  6. Graeme Mercer Adam (1891). Toronto, Old and New. Mail printing Company. p. 133.
  7. Mike Filey (1 September 1993). More Toronto Sketches: The Way We Were. Dundurn. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-55488-232-8.
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