Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Humphreys, Sydney
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1926-2015
History
Sydney (Ernest) Humphreys was born in Chilliwack, British Columbia on September 26, 1926. He studied violin with Gregori Garbovitsky in Vancouver, Kathleen Parlow in Toronto, Thomas Matthews and Frederick Grinke in London, and Georges Enesco in Paris. From 1952-1970, he was the leader of the Aeolian String Quartet of London, which toured internationally, recorded, and broadcast on the BBC and CBC. From 1954-1965, he held various appointments: he was a member of the St. Cecilia Trio, concertmaster of the Bath Festival Orchestra, and a soloist with several BBC orchestras. He served as concertmaster for the BBC Scottish Orchestra from 1972-1974, of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta from 1974-1976, and of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra from 1975-1976. He was head of the string department at the Victoria Conservatory of Music from 1970-1972, and again from 1975-2001, when he retired. He died in Victoria, British Columbia on February 16, 2015.