Bramwell Tovey
June 07, 2005
Conductor and Music Director for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), Bramwell Tovey is an important figure in the cultural life of Vancouver and BC’s Lower Mainland.
In recognition of his dedication to music and contributions to the community, Kwantlen University College awards Bramwell Tovey with an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree (Honoris Causa) at the 2005 Convocation ceremony.
“Since moving to Vancouver with my family in 2000, my wife Lana, my children and I have greatly appreciated the warmth and friendliness of the lower Mainland community. I am deeply honoured to accept this honourary degree and look forward to participating in Kwantlen University College life.”
Bramwell joined the VSO as Music Director in September 2000. Vancouver was not his first Canadian home, however. The British-born conductor joined the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) as Artistic Director in 1989 and continued that role through 2001. During his tenure in Winnipeg, he founded the WSO's New Music Festival, which remains one of the premiere new music events in North America.
In addition to his duties with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell serves as the Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and as a guest conductor with orchestras around the world, particularly the New York Philharmonic, where he leads and directs the orchestra’s two week Summertime Classics Festival at the Lincoln Center each July.
He also continues to compose and record music. Recent works include the “Santa Barbara Sonata” for the Canadian Brass, the soundtrack for the feature film “Eighteen,” which was recorded by the VSO and is due for release this fall. In 2003, his "Requiem for a Charred Skull", a personal response to the horrors of the Kosovan conflict won the Juno award for Best Classical Composition.
Bramwell has a keen interest in jazz and has recorded two albums with his own trio. Earlier this season he performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the VSO.
Throughout his career Bramwell has demonstrated a commitment to young musicians and to communicating his enthusiasm for music to younger generations. He leads the VSO’s education programmes, which perform to more than 35,000 schoolchildren each year and has also led the New York Philharmonic’s famous Young People’s Concerts.
Bramwell holds honourary doctorates from the Universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg. In 1999 he won the Joan Chalmer's National Award for Artistic Direction of a major Canadian arts institution.
In 1999 he was elected an honourary citizen of the City of Winnipeg and in 2000 was appointed a member of the Order of Manitoba. In January 2004 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England and in May this year was awarded an honourary fellowship of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.