Harold Wevers, Principal Bassoon
Alan Dickson Photography
Multifaceted composer/bassoonist Harold Wevers was born in Princeton, New Jersey in 1949, and emigrated to Toronto, Ontario in 1951. The family became Canadian citizens in 1968. He adopted the bassoon in high school, and studied with noted bassoonist Loren Glickman in New York for a number of years upon graduation from high school. While in high school, he was awarded a piano scholarship with Clifford Poole, and went on to study composition with Dr. Samuel Dolin from 1967 to 1974. On the advice of Dr. Dolin, Wevers went to the University of Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy, followed by post graduate work at McGill University and the University of Western Ontario in composition. He affiliated with BMI in 1979, and is now represented by SOCAN. He is an affiliate of the Canadian Music Centre.
As a performer, Wevers has been principal bassoonist with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra since 1975, and that orchestra has performed a number of his works, as have a number of other ensembles across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Prior to joining the TBSO, Wevers spent a year in Israel on a kibbutz, milking cows and playing principal bassoon in the Orchestra of the Kibbutzim.
Both Clifford Poole and Samuel Dolin taught Wevers pro bono; each of them recognized that the investment of their time would bear fruit. Not only has that faith been affirmed in Wevers’ prolific and imaginative compositions, but Wevers has followed in their example and has contributed his knowledge to young musicians on the same terms.
Wevers’ works are archived at Lakehead University and Ohio State University.
