Past Music Directors
of the WSO
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra has had only five music directors in its sixty-four year history. Below is a brief biography of our four past Music Directors.
Matti Holli, 1947-1977
Laszlo Gati, 1979-1985
Dwight Bennett, 1986-1990
Susan Haig, 1991-2001
Matti Holli - 1947-1977
Matti Holli was seven when his family move to Windsor from Finland, and during these early years his musical studies at the Ursuline School of music centred on violin, piano and theory. He continued studies at the Detroit Conservatory of Music where he earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.
At 18, Matti Holli began his radio career as a violin soloist and conductor with CKLW and CBE Windsor. At the same time, he led the dance band at the then famous Bob-Lo amusement park, playing violin, drums, and bass.
In 1947 he founded the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, having taken over leadership of the Windsor Concert Orchestra, a radio orchestra created to raise money for the war effort, from founder Ernest Rennie. In the early years, he served in ever conceivable capacity: librarian, manager, fundraiser and conductor.
A few years later, he visited composer Jean Sibelius in Matti’s homeland of Finland and conducted symphonies in Helsinki and Tampere. He was guest conductor of the Mexico National Orchestra in Mexico city, the Pittsburg Symphony, the NBC “Symphony of the Air” at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the CBC Orchestra in Toronto.
Maestro Holli founded the Windsor Junior Symphony in 1957; this later became part of the International Youth Symphony, founded in 1965. His dedicated work provided the young musicians from Ontario and Michigan with free training in the performance of symphonic music, an invaluable experience.
In recognition of Maestro Holli’s encouragement, support and performance of symphonic music in Canada, he was awarded the Centennial Medal and Citation by the Canadian Government. His contribution to the performance and interpretation of the works of Jean Sibelius led the Finnish Grand Festival, in 1972 to award Maestro Holli the Jean Sibelius Award. On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Windsor Symphony, further governmental recognition was provided by the Mayor and Council of the City of Windsor, who for the first time in the city’s history, issued a Certificate of Appreciation to Matti Holli for his outstanding personal contribution in the field of music. In 1974 he was awarded a Medallion of Appreciation on behalf of the Dijon (France) Symphony Orchestra and Society.
On November 11, 1977, the Windsor Symphony suffered the most tragic event of its history when Matti Holli died suddenly. The Orchestra was just beginning its thirtieth season and was left without its leader.
Laszlo Gati - 1979-1985
Maestro Laszlo Gati is one of Canada’s internationally best known conductors. He has conducted more than fifty orchestras on four continents. Most major artists apeared under his baton, including Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Dame Moura Lympany, Mstislav Rostropovitch,Van Cliburn, Phillipe Entremont, Igor Oistrakh, Janos Starker and many others.
He was the Music Director of the Victoria and Windsor Symphony Orchestras in Canada, the l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Montreal, Founder and Artistic Director of the Montreal Chamber Orchestra, the Victoria Summer Festival, Founder and Artistic Director of the Dollar Concerts of the Pacific, Principal Guest Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, and the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra.
Maestro Gati is also an accomplished violinist and violist. For several years he was a violinist with the Hungarian State Philharmonic Orchestra and Assistant Solo Viola with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He also acted as Assistant Conductor to Zubin Mehta.
Before leaving Hungary in 1956, he was the Head of the Symphonic and Chamber Music Department of the Hungarian Radio. He established and became the head of the Musical Program Exchange Department. He was the conductor of the State Philharmony and the conductor of the University of Economics Choir and Orchestra.
Maestro Gati was one of the Founding Directors of the Association of Canadian Orchestras (ACO). In British Columbia he incorporated the Galacon Concerts Management Inc. and presented major attractions in Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle Washington, including The Canadian Opera Company, The Bach Aria Group,TheRoyal Winnipeg Ballet, The Romeros, The National Dance Company of Senegal, Andres Segovia, Narciso Yepes, and others.
During his career, Maestro Gati worked regularly with youth orchestras in Banff, Budapest, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria.
Maestro Gati is holder of various awards, honorary positions and citations, including a Senior Art Fellowship from The Canada Council, Honorary Professor of the Zoltan Kodaly Academy, Honorary Citizen of the City of Victoria and holder of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal.
Under his tutelage, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra underwent a period of remarkable artistic growth as the 65 members of the orchestra responded enthusiastically to his leadership. Maestro Gati reached out to the ethnic community and initiated joint musical ventures with local groups such as the Italian Men’s Choir.
Gati moved to Vancouver in 1989 and has continued to guest conduct, and to lecture on musical subjects for the Vancouver school board and for the Cunard line music tours. Gati is a gifted exponent of the romantic composers and of 20th-century Hungarian music, notably Bartók and Kodály, but he is at ease in most styles and includes Canadian works in his repertoire. Please visit Maestro Gati's website for more information.
Dwight Bennett - 1986-1990
Dwight Bennett has an extensive international career conducting orchestras and opera companies around the world. In addition to his guest conducting, he is the new Director of the UBC Orchestra. Maestro Bennett studied with Karel Ancerl, Julius Herford, Franco Ferrara, Kiril Kondrashin, and Bernard Haitink. After winning first prize at the Heinz Unger Conductor's Competition, he conducted over 100 performances in North America with the Canadian Opera Company.
Mr. Bennett conducted complete symphonic cycles of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms while serving as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded with CBC, Verdi and Bongiovanni Records. He was Assistant Conductor (Vienna State Opera), Resident Conductor (Canadian Opera Company), Chief Conductor/Head of Music (New Israeli Opera), Artistic Director (Royal Opera Canada), and Principal Guest Conductor (Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra). He has worked at such Festivals as Gars, Westben and Strasbourg, and conducted numerous orchestral tours of Europe and Asia. He has recently conducted in Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Croatia, Taiwan, Korea, and China, including a new production/DVD of Massenet’s Don Quichotte for Teatro Verdi (Trieste) and symphonic programs with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2007, he was awarded the title “Commendatore Stella Della Solidarietà Italiana” from the President of Italy for his contribution to Italian culture and art.
In 1986, he assumed the position of Music Director and Conductor of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. From the very start, Bennett’s goal was to “build the finest symphony orchestra in southwestern Ontario,” and to attract a larger, more diverse audience. Under Bennett’s direction, the orchestra experienced a period of rapid growth and was challenged to play works that had never before been attempted.
Dwight Bennett is currently General & Artistic Director of Royal Opera Canada and Opera Mississauga.
Susan Haig - 1991-2001
Susan Haig became Music Director of the Windsor Symphony in 1991 following three outstanding seasons as Resident Staff Conductor of the Calgary Phiharmonic Orchestra. Under her leadership, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra was recognized as one of the most successful and innovative professional orchestras in Canada. In North America Ms. Haig’s conducting has included return engagements with the Symphony Orchestras of Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, London, Calgary, Lansing and the National Arts Centre.
Since 2007, Haig has been involved in producing short-form arts news features, and in establishing New Jersey Arts News, a media project hosted by the Community Foundation of New Jersey. She has conducted numerous state-wide and national broadcasts in the US and Canada, served as guest host for the daily morning show broadcast nationally on CBC Stereo, and worked ‘back-stage duty’ during Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts. Her interest in cultural broadcasting was sparked in the 1960s by the CBS-NY Philharmonic Young Peoples Concerts, Biography with Mike Wallace, and The 20th Century with Walter Cronkite.
Dr. Haig has been a passionate spokesman on cultural citizenship, the civic role of orchestras, and public arts education through the media. She currently serves as a trustee of the National Music Museum and VP of programming for the International Women’s Forum—New Jersey chapter, and is an affiliate of Princeton’s Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies.
A champion of new music, Haig has conducted numerous world premieres, and was founder of the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival. Her awards have included the Heinz Unger (national) Conducting Award, Canada 125 Citizenship Award, the Mayor’s Award for the Arts, and selection for the League of American Orchestra’s National Conductor Preview. She was voted 2006 Music Educator of the Year in Tampa, received keys to the cities of St. Petersburg and Windsor in recognition of her cultural leadership, and was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from the University of Windsor.
Ms. Haig was born and raised in Summit, N.J., graduated from Princeton University—where she was a University Scholar—and received Master's and Doctoral degrees in piano and conducting from Stony Brook University. Her training included piano studies with Martin Canin and Isabelle Sant’Ambrogio, viola with Lillian Fuchs, coaching with Martin Smith, and conducting with Gustav Meier, Paul Vermel, Arthur Weisberg and Edoardo Muller. To learn more, please visit Maestro Haig's website.
