Erwin Marcus

Marcus, Erwin

Erwin Marcus. Choir director, composer, teacher, b Vienna 1902, naturalized Canadian 1956, d Montreal April 1956. He took music lessons privately and studied musicology at the University of Vienna. Between 1920 and 1938 he coached and conducted choirs and operatic groups and accompanied such singers as Leo Slezak and Vera Schwarz. In 1938 he went to Shanghai, where he conducted the Grand Opera and International Choral Society and taught at the National Cons. He moved in 1949 to Montreal, where he taught, coached, accompanied, and, for several years, conducted the Workmen's Circle Choir. In 1955 he joined the staff of McGill Cons. His compositions include Die Brücke (an oratorio for children's choir and small orchestra), instrumental fugues, a string quartet, and several songs. A quartet for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, a piano sonata, and a piano suite were written in Canada and performed over the CBC.