The
Brott family has made a tremendous contribution to the Montreal
classical music community as musicians, composers, conductors, teachers
and orchestra leaders since the late Alexander Brott and his wife
Lotte, created The McGill Chamber Orchestra in the 1940s. Their first
son Boris, inherited their combined talent, intellect and business
acumen that has made him one of Canada’s most accomplished
orchestra conductors. He has established a fine international
reputation in music, has trained as a lawyer, and has a successful
second career… as a motivational speaker.
| I’ve had the pleasure of meeting
Boris on several occasions, and each time I come away with the feeling
that anything is possible – that with a plan, some talent and the
willingness to put in the work – hard work if necessary; an individual
can follow their dream and make it real. |
Ardyth and Boris Brott sharing a light moment
in their Hamilton home. The couple started the
Brott Music Festival and the National Academy
Orchestra |
On a sun drenched June morning
we visited on the back terrace of the family residence that he still
maintains in Montreal; and also serves as the office for The McGill
Chamber Orchestra. Here’s a look an exceptional man with a list of
accomplishments longer than two arms; his commitment to see his
parents’ life work with the McGill Chamber Orchestra - not only be
sustained – but to see the orchestra that Alexandra and Lotte Brott
gave to Montreal is able to flourish.
An Officer of The Order of Canada and the recipient of numerous
Canadian and international awards of recognition; Boris has come a very
long way from the one room apartment on Maplewood Avenue that was home
to his paternal grandparents, his parents, and young Boris.
Born in 1944, Boris was the first son of two classical musicians who
were leaders in their respective fields of study and performance.
Alexander Brott taught violin and composition at McGill
University’s Faculty of Music, served as Concertmaster and
Assistant Conductor of L’Orchestre Sinfonique de Montreal and was
the driving force behind the McGill String Quartet which evolved into
the McGill Chamber Orchestra. Lotte Brott, the daughter of a wealthy
European industrialist was the cellist, business manager and public
relations representative sans-pareille. In the 1950s Lotte contacted
the then President of Texaco Canada and convinced him that a
sponsorship of the orchestra would be good for business – she was
credited as arranging the first corporate sponsorship for classical
music in Canada. It was a lesson that young Boris would put to good use
himself before he was old enough to vote!
“My parents and I lived in one room within my grandmother’s
flat. My grandfather was an upholsterer, upholsterer and amateur opera
singer, my grandmother a Russian émigré with a keen ear
for music. The provided me with a sense of normalcy”. Boris
continues; “My parents were busy carving our artistic lives at
all hours of the day and night surrounded by friends and associates who
were all quite exotic. My grandmother had a sympathetic understanding
for what it was like to be a young boy in the topsy-turvy world of
musicians.” Indeed, in his biography titled My lives In Music,
Alexander Brott noted that he and Lotte would take young Boris to
rehearsals; and that he would play with his toys in the aisles of
L’ Auditorium du Plateau while the orchestra rehearsed. To his
father’s great delight, Boris’s first words were
“Oboe solo”.
The many expressions of Boris
|
Boris studied
violin with his father, and it became apparent that he had an
exceptional talent. At the age of 5 Boris performed at a young
people’s matinée with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
At age 12, Boris established the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of
Montreal, and like his father and mother, he set about the tasks of
establishing a program, arranging rehearsal space at Shaare Zion
Synagogue, and promoting their performances. “One day I was flying to Ottawa to
seek some government funding, and as an unaccompanied minor, I was
moved up to first class. I met Geoff Sterling, who was the owner of
CKGM, a Montreal radio station that played popular music.
| He seemed to
be impressed with my project, and invited me to visit him the following
week in Montreal. I did – and he was true to his word, and CKGM became
a sponsor for the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of Montreal, which was
completely in the opposite direction of the music the station played.” |
Boris giving a young violinist some tips
on bow technique |
When it comes to intellect – Boris Brott is right off the scale…
“By the time I was 18, I was the Assistant Conductor for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra”
“A summer job?” I ask tentatively…wondering how this could possibly be a part-time student employment.
“Oh – I had graduated from McGill Conservatory of Music by
then” replies Boris. “I went to West Hill High School in
the morning and McGill in the afternoon. I literally had to run for the
bus to make it to McGill for my afternoon classes.” In answering
my raised eyebrow question, Boris chuckles; “I had no
‘normal’ life - I studied, practiced, practiced some more
and then studied some more – I was a complete nerd.”
However, he did find time to spend a summer in 1956 to study conducting
under the guidance of Pierre Monteux in Europe and the next year with
Igor Markevitch in Mexico; and subsequently won the first Pan-American
conducting competition in 1958. This was just the beginning…
After two years with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Boris spent four
years in England as the Principal Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia at
Newacstle-on-Tyne, which included several tours; including concerts at
Expo ’67. During that same time period, Boris as also the
Principal Conductor for the touring company of the Royal Ballet Covent
Garden. He moved back to North America in 1968 when he won the Gold
Medal in Dimitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition which
included in the prize the opportunity to serve as Assistant Conductor
to Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. All this
and he’s just 24 years old.
Then Boris really got busy…
- Lakehead Symphony Orchestra in Thunder Bay 1967-72
- Regina Symphony Orchestra, 1971-73
- Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Artistic Director & Conductor, 1969-1990
- CBC Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Director 1975-1983
- Symphony Nova Scotia, Artistic Director, 1982-85
- Ontario Place Pops Orchestra 1983-1991
- New West Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles, Music Director 1995-present
- McGill Chamber Orchestra, Artistic Director and Conductor, 2002-present
- National Arts Centre Orchestra, Youth and Family conductor, 2004-present
- Canadian Opera Company, Daughter of the Regiment by Donizetti in 1977
- Directed opera performances for Opera Hamilton, Canadian Opera Company and Sadler’s Wells Opera
- Guest
Conductor with major Canadian orchestras, in England with the BBC
Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Northern Orchestra, France (Orchestre
des Concerts Colonne) orchestras in Italy, Central and South America,
Holland, Israel, Vatican City, Scandinavia, Japan, Korea, and in the
United States at Chautaugua, New York; Greensboro, North Carolina,
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony.
In addition
to talent, personal relationships are important in the world of
classical music. The pan-Canadian and international associations and
friendships that Boris has built up over the years enable him to engage
musicians and vocalists of international accomplishment and calibre to
perform with the McGill Chamber Orchestra. For the invited soloists,
performing with Boris Brott and the orchestra are important additions
to their performance portfolios. Montreal audiences are richer as a
result of this high level musical “networking”.
| In 1988, Boris and his wife Ardyth
started the Brott Summer Music Festival, bringing a wonderful selection
of classical music, combined with jazz and popular influences. The
festival starts in June and continues to the Grand Finale concert in
late August, which this year is Mahler’s Symphony #2 “Resurrection”,
and features National Academy Orchestra alumni. |
Boris Brott |
The National Academy Orchestra is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this
year, and it is concurrent with the Brott Summer Music Festival. This
is another Boris Brott undertaking to provide important performance
opportunities to young professional musicians. The National Academy is
a unique mentor-apprentice program which bridges post-secondary
education with employment, providing real-life rehearsal schedules,
master classes, mock auditions and seminars on important subjects not
covered in traditional Universities and music schools. The Academy has
“graduated” over 1,000 musicians into professional and
entrepreneurial employment worldwide. There are over 30 performances
during the spring and summer Brott Festival in Toronto, Hamilton and
Muskoka Ontario.
Boris has a commitment to introducing young audiences to the
“world’s greatest music” and its salutary effect on
brain development. He serves as Principal Youth and Family Conductor of
the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in Ottawa; bringing
multi-media family concerts to new audiences - something he has done
for over 20 years. He brought a mini-version of this outreach program
to the Montreal area with the McGill Chamber Orchestra, both at Place
des Arts and on tour to Lennoxville, Cowansville, and next year to
Lachute and the Gaspésie region. The McGill Chamber Orchestra is
the first Montreal orchestra to be regularly touring into schools in
these areas.
In the early 90’s Boris experienced a career melt-down and felt
the need to improve his intrapersonal communications skills. He
enrolled in the law school at the University of Western Ontario from
1992 – ’95. “I learned more about conducting from law
school through the study of human communication.”
| It soon became apparent that Boris
had learned his communications lessons very well. A senior executive of
IBM was attending a performance of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra that
Boris was guest-conducting. Impressed with Boris’ communication skills,
he asked if Boris could prepare a motivational seminar, drawing a
comparison between the working relationships of a symphony orchestra
and a multi-faceted corporation. The folks at IBM loved it, and since
then Boris has become in such demand that he has developed a second
career, giving between 25 and 40 motivational presentations per year to
Fortune 500 companies around the world. |
Boris Brott is Canada’s best known
conductor both domestically and
internationally |
It was just such a presentation in Rome that brought him into contact
with The Vatican, and conducting a special performance of Leonard
Bernstein’s controversial Mass for Pope John Paul II in 2000.
“I was in Rome to speak to production executives from the
pharmaceutical company Pfizer. I met the person who was responsible for
the Jubilee Concerts in Rome, and he mentioned that they intended to
perform this work, which I knew to be very controversial.” Boris
continues; “I was Lenny’s assistant at the time he wrote
Mass, and I knew it very well – and I was aware of the
controversy surrounding it. As a result of this conversation, I was
asked by The Vatican to consult on how they could adjust the
performance without loosing its essence, and would I also conduct the
performance?” On June 1, 2000, Boris Brott conducted a special
performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, a Theatre Piece for
Singer Players and Dancers at the Vatican’s Aula Nervi for Pope
John Paul II and an audience 10,000 people. The telecast was broadcast
internationally by RAI Italy and produced as a DVD. “It was an
emotional experience – the fact that a Catholic Pope would give
his blessing to me, a person of Jewish faith – highlights the
positive influence that art and religion can have.”
Boris is excited about the coming season for The McGill Chamber
Orchestra. “We have a wonderful audience, and we’re in the
process of building our next generation. We have renewed and
revitalized the orchestra, and we have a terrific group of young
musicians. We have a committed and energetic Board led by Dr. Hans
Black. There’s a tremendous amount of energy coming off that
stage; and our guest soloists and audiences really appreciate that
spirit.”
September 24th will see the beginning of The McGill Chamber
Orchestra’s 69th season, bringing Montrealers an eclectic mixture
of classical music under the leadership of one of the world’s
great conductors and motivators – Boris Brott. He’ll lead
you into a wonderful world of music with the same enthusiasm of that 12
year-old boy who ran for the bus to McGill – to the music that
would fill his life. It will lift your spirits!
For information about the McGill Chamber Orchestra 2008-09 season, please call: 514-487-5190 or visit: www.ocm-mco.org
Enjoy!
The McGill Chamber orchestra 2008-09 Season
“We want each concert to be an ‘event’” Boris
Brott states. “Our audience has an eclectic taste in music, and
that’s why we expanded our program to include jazz vocalist
Dorothy Berryman for our first concert on September 24th. Trumpeter
Jens Lindermann was a huge success at our season ending concert two
years ago, and he’s coming back with his showmanship and
virtuosity on October 20th.”
The orchestra will return to Christ Church Cathedral for the annual
favourite presentation of Handel’s Messiah on November 25th, with
soprano Marie-Eve Munger, the incomparable countertenor Daniel Taylor,
tenor Benjamin Butterfield, and baritone Alex Dobson. The season
continues on February 11 with a Beethoven program, an Alexander Brott
Tribute Concert. The late Alexander Brott composed a series of
orchestral variations from a short Beethoven canon Freu dich des
Lebens, which the great composer had given to Quebec music teacher
Theodore Molt, and had been undiscovered until it was brought to
Alexander Brott’s attention. Pianist Janina Fialkowska is the
guest performer.
Be prepared for a wonderful evening of opera on March 16 when The
Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique takes the stage
to perform selections from Mozart’s classic “Italian”
operas; La Nozze de Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, and Don Giovanni.
The singing continues on April 6th with the McGill Concert Choir
performing the Great Choruses of Bach and Handel. On May 6th the
orchestra performs with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal, bringing
an evening of Maurice Ravel interspersed with works by four young
composers, in a multi-media extravaganza.
The Season wraps up with violin soloist Lindsay Deutsch performing a
Four Seasons theme, beginning with Vivaldi, continuing with the sensual
Brazilian Tangos of Astor Piazzolla and on to mark
O’Connor’s jazz inspired American Spring. Extra
fundraising concerts for Share the Warmth and Dans La Rue will be
performed on December 12th and 13th.
For information about Season Subscriptions, please call: 514-487-5190, or visit : www.ocm-mco.org
|
