Ernest (Herbert) Dainty. Pianist, organist, composer, conductor, b Peckham, London, 30 Sep 1891, d Toronto 30 Oct 1947. He moved to Toronto at 10 and studied piano with F. H.
Torrington at the
Toronto College of Music, touring Canada at 12 as a pianist and treble soloist. Following further study 1907-10 with Jaroslav de Zielinski in Buffalo, and 1910-11 with
Luigi von Kunits (harmony), Dr Eggett (violin), and Peter C. Kennedy (piano) at the
Canadian Academy of Music in Toronto, he made a
Massey Hall debut in 1911 and studied 1912-14 in Vienna with Leopold Godowsky. After World War I service he returned to Toronto, working as a theatre organist and later giving organ and piano recitals on CKNC, CKCL, CBC, and other radio stations. He received particular praise for his interpretations of Chopin. He was a popular accompanist in Toronto and also gave many broadcasts with a trio and conducted the Canadian General Electric Orchestra on the CBC. He founded in 1929 and conducted the Toronto Hebrew Male Chorus and was organist-choirmaster in several Toronto churches. Dainty's compositions, listed in the
Catalogue of Canadian Composers, include works for string orchestra, violin trio, and violin or cello and piano. Some piano pieces and songs were published by Waterloo,
BMI Canada, and Thompson. His
Nocturne for Strings (1936), premiered in 1939 by the
TSO, received a number of performances. He also composed and arranged music for many broadcasts and for the early Canadian feature film
Carry on Sergeant (1928). His song,
'Carry On' was a World War II hit. Some of his papers have been deposited at the
National Library of Canada.
Ernest and Gertrude's daughter Gwendolyn Dainty, with the support of her son James and her brother Don, established the foundation in 1985. Over the years Gwendolyn was able to retrieve some of her father’s musical compositions from Canada’s archives in Ottawa. Select compositions were performed by the Kingston Symphony Orchestra led by music director Glen Fast, a close personal friend of Gwendolyn’s. The foundation went on to sponsor a fund raising gala at Dunning Hall “Tribute to Composer Ernest Dainty” featuring Jorge Suarez (piano), Alanna Vaghy (violin) and Wolf Tormann (cello) in 1996. Following Gwendolyn’s passing in 1999, the foundation was inactive for many years until being revived by her son James in 2017.
