Murray Adaskin

Murray Adaskin, (March 28, 1906 – May 6, 2002) was a Canadian violinist, teacher, and composer. Biography Born in Toronto to Latvian Jewish immigrant parents, Adaskin was introduced to the violin by his brother, Harry; he also studied in Paris with Marcel Chailley (1929), and in Toronto with Luigi von Kunits, William Primrose (1937), and Kathleen Parlow (1941-43). During the 1940s, he commenced compositional studies with John Weinzweig, Charles Jones and Darius Milhaud at the Music Academy of the West. Among his notable pupils were composers Boyd McDonald, Paul Pedersen, Rodney Sharman and Timothy Williams, and violinist Andrew Dawes. A founding member of the Canadian League of Composers, Adaskin composed more than half of his oeuvre of 130 compositions after retiring to Victoria in 1973. The Order of Canada was conferred on him in 1980. The Adaskin portrait in the Canadian Composers Portraits series was released in 2002. He died in Victoria on May 6, 2002. Compositional style Adaskin’s works encompass orchestra, band and chamber ensembles, solo and duo instruments, voice, and student and occasional pieces. He also wrote the chamber opera, Grant, Warden of the Plains (1967). His tr