Fonds RC0136 - Boyd Neel fonds

Boyd Neel, conductor, was born in London England on 19 July 1905. He first trained as a naval officer in 1918, but then left the navy to study for a medical career at Cambridge University in 1923. He became House Surgeon and Physician at St. George's Hospital, London. During this period he conducted amateur orchestras and choirs. He eventually decided to establish a professional orchestra. It had its debut on 22 June 1933 in London. The Boyd Neel Orchestra performed in England, throughout Europe and also in Australia and New Zealand. After a concert tour of Canada, Neel was offered the position of Dean of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto which he held from 1953 to 1971. He founded the Hart House Orchestra in 1955. He died in Toronto on 30 September 1981. His memoirs, edited by J. David Finch, were published posthumously as My Orchestras and Other Adventures (1985).