Memorable Manitobans: Walter Kaufman (1907-1984)

Musician, composer.

Born in Karlsbad, Bohemia, he was educated at Prague University and the Hochschule fur Musick, Berlin. He was musical director of the All-India Radio Bombay orchestra, from 1938 to 46, and came to Canada in 1947, first to Halifax, then to Winnipeg from 1948 to 1956. He was the first conductor of the newly-formed Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, directed the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir from 1949 to 1953, and revived the Winnipeg Male Voice Choir in 1950. He was also an active composer. He conducted the premiere of his opera “Bashmachkin” on CBC in 1952, had two ballet scores choreographed by the RWB in 1948 and 1949, and wrote a “Coronation Cantata” performed on CBC in 1953. He joined the music faculty of Indiana University in 1957.

Source:

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Profile revised: 21 March 2008

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