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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