Brian Law

Brian Law

Brian (John Taylor) Law. Conductor, organist, harpsichordist, b London 14 Apr 1943; LRAM 1963, FRCO 1963, ARSCM 1973. Moving to Canada in 1965, Law became conductor of Ottawa's St. Matthew's (Anglican) Church men's and boys' choir (1965-80), and brought the choir to a standard of excellence comparable to that of British collegiate and cathedral choirs. He was conductor 1965-87 of the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, a chamber choir which sang regularly with the NACO, and in 1967 he became conductor of the Ottawa Choral Society. Under his direction, the latter choir has grown to 150 singers and has travelled to Italy and Spain, and participated in the 1989 International Choral Festival in Toronto. In 1971 he was chosen as the first conductor of the Ontario Youth Choir and in 1987 returned for a second season.

Law began his career as an orchestral conductor with the Ottawa Youth Orchestra in 1971 and in 1975 became conductor of the Ottawa Civic Symphony Orchestra (now Ottawa SO). In 1976 he founded the Thirteen Strings - a baroque ensemble conducted from the harpsichord. He has performed as guest conductor with the TS, NACO, Festival Singers of Canada, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, CBC orchestras in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Atlantic Canada, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and the Barcelona SO.

His career in opera began in 1970 when he became assistant conductor and chorus master for Festival Ottawa, a position he held during the 13 years of the Festival's operation. He occupied the same position 1986-9 with the Opéra de Montréal, developing the chorus into an ensemble which was not only noted for its dramatic and musical contribution to the operas but also explored concert choral repertoire from Palestrina to Bruckner. After a year's absence, he returned to the Opéra de Montréal in 1990. Law was appointed the director of New Zealand's Christchurch City Choir in 1991.