Harry Somers

Harry Stewart Somers studied piano and composition under John Weinzweig in Toronto and Darius Milhaud in Paris. Possessing a dynamic, restless compositional imagination, Somers synthesized serialism, driving rhythmic counterpoint, collage, and Canadian folk melodies into a distinctive modernist style.

In 1967, commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company for Canada's Centennial, Somers composed the landmark opera Louis Riel, incorporating Métis folk songs, electronic tapes, and atonal orchestration into a powerful examination of Canadian history. He won the Molson Prize and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.