Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, CC (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was an internationally renowned Canadian orchestral conductor and composer, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from the 1920s through the 1950s. His extraordinary contributions to the development of music in Canada, as conductor, performer, composer, administrator, lecturer, adjudicator, writer, humourist, and statesman, are unparalleled.
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Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan was born in Mimico, Ontario, the son of Mimico's Presbyterian Church Minister, Alexander MacMillan. A child prodigy, he gave his first organ recital at the age of ten. After studying in London at the Royal College of Organists, he studied modern history at the University of Toronto from 1911 to 1914.
MacMillan traveled to Paris in the spring of 1914 and began to study piano privately with Thérèse Chaigneau. He was visiting Bayreuth, Germany, to attend performances of the Bayreuth Festival, when the First World War began in August, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28. MacMillan was initially detained by the German Police, and then imprisoned as an enemy alien, as Canada had declared war on Imperial Germany on August 5. MacMillan was subsequently interned for the duration of the War at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp, located on the site of a former horse racing track, on the outskirts of Berlin. During this period, he became a prominent member of the Ruhleben Musical Society and directed performances of Mikado and a pantomime version of Cinderella. MacMillan transcribed the music for the former from memory with the help of four other musicians. Among those attending these performances was James W. Gerard, the United States Ambassador to Germany. MacMillan was also a member of the Ruhleben Drama Society and acted in productions of Othello, Twelfth Night, and The Importance of Being Earnest.
From 1926 to 1942, MacMillan was principal of the Toronto Conservatory of Music, later to become the Royal Conservatory of Music. He notably was instrumental in establishing the Conservatory String Quartet in 1929. He was a conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra between 1931 and 1956. His notoriety for choosing slow tempos when conducting earned him the affectionate name "Lord Largo"! During the Centennial of the City of Toronto, in 1934, MacMillan was the chairman of the Music and Pagentry Committee. For many years, he served as organist of the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.
Ernest MacMillan died in Toronto in 1973.
MacMillan was noted for his efforts in recording and preserving the traditional songs and music of Canada's aboriginal or First Nations people.
For his 'services to music in Canada', he was knighted in 1935 by King George V on the recommendation of the prime minister of Canada, R.B. Bennett. In 1969, MacMillan was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada. His Order of Canada investiture by then Governor General of Canada, Roland Michener, in Toronto, marked the first time the award had been made in a private ceremony, as his health did not allow him to travel to Ottawa.
In 1931, Ernest and his wife Elsie MacMillan, née Keith, commissioned Page & Steele Architects, Toronto, for the construction of their home at 115 Park Road, in Toronto's fashionable Rosedale neighborhood.
Sir Ernest and Lady MacMillan's home at 115 Park Road was designated a heritage property, as adopted by Toronto City Council, January 22, 1979. The house is also included in the South Rosedale Heritage Conservation District. South Rosedale was designated as a Heritage Conservation District under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, and also enacted by Toronto City Council, February 7, 2003.
The collection of Sir Ernest MacMillan's personal papers and music was established at the National Library of Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1984. The Sir Ernest MacMillan Collection is now included as part of the overall collections of Library and Archives Canada which was created May 21, 2004, by order of the Governor in Council, through the merger of the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada.
[To access the Sir Ernest MacMillan Collection at Library and Archives Canada, go to the Library and Archives Canada Homepage, click in the Search All box, type "Sir Ernest MacMillan", and click Go!]
The following Biographical Sketch of Sir Ernest MacMillan is provided in the Music Archives Division page of the former National Library of Canada, Sir Ernest MacMillan Collection:
"A dominant figure in the world of Canadian music, MacMillan distinguished himself as a conductor, organist, pianist, composer, educator, writer and administrator. He spent forty years of his life in downtown Toronto, not far from Massey Hall, his most frequent performance venue. He conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1931 to 1956 and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir from 1942 to 1957. He was principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music from 1926 to 1942 and dean of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music from 1927 to 1952. He chaired a number of organizations, such as the Canadian Music Council (1947-66) and the Canadian Music Centre (1959-70). His work as an examiner and festival adjudicator took him all across the country. His musical works and numerous arrangements feature elements of French-Canadian and Scottish folklore, as well as Amerindian music. The most important include: Fantasy on Scottish Melodies for orchestra, Two Sketches for Strings, Six Bergerettes du Bas-Canada for chamber ensemble, England and a Te Deum for choir, a String Quartet in C Minor and the opera Prince Charming."
A special exhibition entitled Sir Ernest MacMillan (1893-1973): Portrait of a Canadian Musician was mounted by the National Library of Canada from October 17, 1994 to March 12, 1995.
The Sir Ernest MacMillan Collection at Library and Archives Canada consists of 21.7 linear metres of material.
[To access the fonds description click on Sir Ernest MacMillan fonds (manuscript)
Finding aid: Maureen Nevins. -- "Numerical List of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Fonds". -- Ottawa: National Library of Canada. -- November 1992. 435 p. (unpublished).
The Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation (Fondation commérative Sir Ernest MacMillan) was founded in 1984 by Sir Ernest's sons, Keith and Ross MacMillan, with a donation from the MacMillan family. Additional funds have been obtained through the generosity of other donors.
The principal goal of the Foundation is to assist young musicians in their advanced education at the graduate level and in so doing commemorate a great Canadian and his unique career. More information on the MacMillan Foundation Award is provided at The Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award.
In 1993, the Foundation played a major role in celebrating the centenary of Sir Ernest's birth. It encouraged many commemorative activities throughout the country and collaborated with the Music Division of the National Library of Canada in presenting at Roy Thompson Hall part of the Library's comprehensive MacMillan exhibit.
The Foundation accepts donations from individuals and organizations interested in furthering the musical arts in Canada through its awards program. Donations are tax deductible.
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