Obituary - Srul Glick

[Mel Korn <mkorn...>]

This moving tribute to Srul appeared in The Globe and Mail, Canada's largest
National newspaper.


>From globeandmail.com, Tuesday, April 23, 2002

'Reaching toward God'
Although his works were Jewish in their innate sensibility,
the prolific composer always struck a universal chord
PAULA CITRON



TORONTO -- Long before I met Srul Irving Glick, I knew who he was. At
concerts I attended that were being recorded for radio, Srul stood out among
the CBC types busy with microphones and cables, because he was wearing a
kippah -- the distinctive skullcap that denotes a person of Jewish heritage.
Srul, who died last week of cancer at the age of 67, was a proud Jew to the
world, and a musical Jew in his art. The lamenting minor keys and joyous
klezmer rhythms of his Ashkenazy heritage are imbedded in his works, just as
surely as Judaism was bred in his bones.

In 1990, we finally met, when I arrived at Srul's house to interview him for
The Canadian Jewish News. During our long talk, I discovered that he had
done private commissions for weddings, bar mitzvahs and other celebratory
events. Mid-interview, I suddenly blurted out that I wanted to commission a
song cycle to honour my father's 90th birthday. To his credit, Srul didn't
blink an eye. Over the next few months, what fun we had choosing the seven
pieces of text that would reflect various stages of my father's life. On
Oct. 13, 1991, the triumphant premiere of A Life's Journey: Songs for
Isaac,for tenor and piano, took place at the Park Plaza Hotel's Empress
Ballroom. Srul's mother, Ida, was also turning 90, and the song cycle is
dedicated to both her and my father. After that emotional afternoon, I used
to joke with Srul that for one shining moment, he had turned me into a
Medici, an Esterhazy -- a patron of the arts who had inspired the creation
of a timeless work of beauty.

Srul's parents immigrated to Canada from Kishinev, Russian Bessarabia, in
1924. David, his father, was an itinerant synagogue cantor and
jewellery-store owner. Srul was the fourth child in a close-knit family of
five. His musical influences were the Jewish prayers and songs of his
father, and the classical music of his brother Norman, who was a
professional clarinettist. He was given the name Yisroel (Israel) when he
was born, but to his family he was known by the diminutive Srul.

His marriage to his first wife, pianist Dorothy Sandler, produced children
who inherited a love of the arts. Julie is a visual artist; Stefan is a
cellist; and while Paula's day job is as assistant manager of the Canadian
Children's Opera Chorus, she is also a fine violinist.

A little-known fact about Srul is that, in his youth, he was a gifted
athlete. But as competitive as he was, Srul also acknowledged those who were
better than he. In fact, in the 11 years that he and second wife, lawyer
Sara Wunch, spent together, she says she never heard Srul express a negative
thought about anyone.

In the same vein, he never uttered a word of complaint during his brave
three-and-a-half-year battle with multiple myeloma. Although he had to be
taken to Beth Tikvah Synagogue in a wheelchair, he insisted on standing up
to conduct the choir that had been in his charge for over 30 years. Says
daughter Julie: "He taught us about love, pride, determination, gentleness
and patience. He infused in us an understanding of artistic obsession and
stubbornness, and the continuous quest for spiritual enlightenment."

One of Canada's most prolific composers, Srul was also one of the most
performed and recorded. Even as he lay at death's door, e-mails arrived
offering commissions. Vocal, choral, orchestral, chamber or liturgical, his
output was enormous. Yet, as Jewish as his works were in their innate
sensibility, they struck a universal chord. The relentlessly musical
avant-garde may dismiss his oeuvre as "romantic," but Srul Irving Glick is
played and sung everywhere.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Jacques Israelievitch commissioned
four works from Srul, and his recording of Glick's Suite Hebraique No. 6 was
nominated for a Juno. "The universality of Srul's music is that it speaks
from the heart," he says, "but it is also very sophisticated in how well it
is crafted."

In the 24 years that he was a CBC radio and record producer, Srul garnered
seven Grands Prix du Disques and a Juno. He promoted the works of
innumerable fellow Canadian composers on such shows as Music Alive and
Themes and Variations,as well as overseeing 150 recordings. Acclaimed
pianist Anton Kuerti remembers Srul as a most sympathetic and highly
qualified producer, and, moreover, one who was obviously appreciative of the
artist. "We spent a whole night at Massey Hall recording my Schumann CD and
I still think it's one of my best," he says. "Srul was willing to give up
his sleep because he was so involved in the product."

Srul and Sara always travelled to wherever his works were being performed,
and that meant covering the world. Perhaps the most surreal experience was
one in Rome, where two church choirs from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., were
appearing as part of a cathedral-music series. Coincidentally, the
French-Canadian nun, Emilie Tavernier Gamelin, was being beatified, and the
choirs were invited to perform at the Vatican ceremony.

At the reception at the residence of the Canadian ambassador, Srul in his
kippah was surrounded by a sea of cardinals, bishops and sisters. When asked
what the kosher couple found to eat amid this glittering Catholic hierarchy,
Sara remembers with amusement that they were limited to mozzarella cubes
topped with cherry tomatoes. On a more important note, the occasion that
Srul was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1994 was the first kosher meal
ever served by a governor-general at Rideau Hall.

Composer Timothy Minthorn gave up graduate school to study with Srul
privately six years ago. As Srul faltered, Minthorn became his helper,
transcribing on the computer the weakened composer's pencilled manuscript
notes. Srul worked until the day he died, ferociously marshalling his
strength to finish commissions for the Victoria Scholars and the Kingston
Choral Society. He didn't make it, and the works remain incomplete.

"We've lost one of Canada's greatest composers," says Minthorn. "Srul
created wonderful, complex melodies where every musical thread holds
together."

Shortly before he died, Srul taped an interview with choral director Lydia
Adams that will be used as liner notes for an upcoming Elmer Iseler
Singers/Amadeus Choir CD of Srul's three largest choral works, Triumph of
the Spirit, In Memoriam Leonard Bernstein and The Hour Has Come. The last of
those is so beloved of choirs that Srul called it his "pop tune."

A portion of the tape was played at Srul's funeral, and his words speak
eloquently of his creative wellspring. "To understand your job as a composer
is to be able to see God's beauty everywhere, and I suppose the majority of
what my music represents is looking beyond the suffering and evil in the
world, and reaching toward the beauty and the oneness of God."

 Srul Irving Glick, composer, music producer, choral director, teacher. Born
Toronto, Sept. 8, 1934; died Toronto, April 17, 2002.


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