Elmer Iseler
| Elmer Walter Iseler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 14, 1927 Port Colborne, Ontario |
| Died | April 3, 1998 (aged 70) Caledon East, Ontario |
| Occupation | Choral conductor |
| Spouse(s) | Trudy (Mosig) Iseler Jessie (Balsillie) Iseler |
Elmer Walter Iseler, OC OOnt (October 14, 1927 – April 3, 1998) was a Canadian choir conductor and choral editor. He was the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and founder of the Festival Singers of Canada and the Elmer Iseler Singers.
Elmer Iseler was born in 1927 in Port Colborne, Ontario, the son of a Lutheran minister. He studied piano and organ as a youth. In 1945, he enrolled in Waterloo College, an offshoot of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary that later evolved into Wilfrid Laurier University. There he studied organ and church music with Ulrich Leupold.
Iseler transferred to the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto to finish his degree, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Music. He then studied at the Ontario College of Education (now Ontario Institute for Studies in Education). While at OCE, he conducted the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the university's All-Varsity Mixed Chorus.
Iseler sang in the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir under the baton of Sir Ernest MacMillan, and in 1951-52 he apprenticed as an assistant rehearsal conductor.
In 1952, Iseler found work teaching orchestral and choral music in Toronto high schools, an occupation he continued until 1964. From 1965 to 1968, he returned to the University of Toronto to teach choral music.
In 1954, Iseler helped to found the Festival Singers of Toronto, later known as the Festival Singers of Canada, and conducted them until 1978. He then founded a professional chamber choir, the Elmer Iseler Singers. He conducted this choir until his death in 1998.
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