Dundurn Performing Arts Library Bundle — Musicians

Ezra Schabas is professor emeritus, University of Toronto, and was Principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music (1978-1983). He has written two major biographies: Theodore Thomas: America's Conductor and Builder of Orchestras (University of Illinois Press, 1989), and Sir Ernest MacMillan: The Importance of Being Canadian (University of Toronto Press, 1994), which won the 1995 City of Toronto Book Award.

Lotfi Mansouri has been a notable international opera director for decades. In addition to a career in Europe, he has headed up both the Canadian Opera Company and the San Francisco Opera. He was named a Chevalier in the French Legion d'honneur, and in 2009 received the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors award. He died in San Francisco in 2013 at the age of 84.

Stuart Hamilton has been one of Canada’s premier vocal coaches for 65 years. He is founder and artistic director emeritus of Opera in Concert and was the first artistic director of the Canadian Opera Company ensemble. Hamilton gives master classes in vocal interpretation across Canada and lectures around North America. He lives in Toronto.

James Neufeld has been going to the ballet for nearly fifty years and has written extensively about dance and the arts in Canada. Previously, he published Power to Rise and Lois Marshall. He recently retired from a thirty-eight year teaching career at Trent University and lives in Peterborough, Ontario.

Robert Popple first met John Arpin at the Midland Music Festival in the 1940s. He followed Arpin's career with great enthusiasm for more than 58 years. Popple is also an accomplished amateur pianist. He lives at Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island.

Walter Pitman was a federal MP and an Ontario MLA, president of Ryerson University, and director of the Ontario Arts Council. He was a Member of the Order of Ontario; an Officer of the Order of Canada; and the author of Elmer Iseler, Music Makers, and Louis Applebaum.

Holly Higgins Jonas has been involved in choral activities all her life. She has been president of the McGill Choral Society, a member of England's Royal Choral Society, and a member of many community and church choirs in Canada.

Michelle Labrèche-Larouche has always loved music and writing. She has been a researcher, journalist, and editor for Châtelaine for over 20 years and is now responsible for the magazine ís arts and entertainment pages.

Carl Morey is a frequent writer, lecturer, and broadcaster on opera, and includes among his many publications An Opera Sampler: Miscellaneous Essays on Opera (Dundurn, 1998). During thirty years as professor of Musicology at the University of Toronto, he occupied the Jean A. Chalmers Chair in Canadian Music (1991-2000), and was the Dean of the Faculty of Music (1984-90).

Mark Hernandez is a professional opera singer who lives in San Francisco. When he’s not on stage, he can be found championing the performing arts as a teacher, consultant, and writer.