In Memoriam | Boris Brott

It is difficult to imagine the musical landscape without Boris Brott. Through his tireless work, unending passion, and inspiring leadership, he has impacted the lives of countless musicians and audiences around the world.  
 
Mr. Brott was at home in a concert hall, and we are pleased that he shared so many evenings in Pollack Hall with the McGill Chamber Orchestra (now the Orchestre Classique de Montréal) as well as our own McGill Symphony Orchestra and Opera McGill.  
 
In 2013 he was the recipient of an honorary doctorate at McGill. Noted at the time, he has had a 60-plus year history of promoting artistic development, founding the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of Montreal as a teenager as well as founding the National Academy Orchestra, Canada’s only professional training orchestra for graduate musicians. Mr. Brott had also pushed classical music performances in unexpected directions, by bringing ballet dancers and astronauts to the stage and moving the orchestra itself to the heart of a steel factory blast furnace. In 1992, the maestro went back to school, studying law at the University of Western Ontario. He had since built a second career, using his musical expertise to teach Fortune 500 executives about corporate creativity and team communication.  

His sudden and tragic passing has hit the core of our music community and we offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and all those dear to him. 

 

Montreal Gazette
CBC News
The Globe and Mail