John Waterhouse

Who was John Waterhouse?

John Fereday Preston Waterhouse was a Canadian violinist, conductor, and music educator of English birth. Born in Bilston, West Midlands, he was educated at the Royal Academy of Music where he was a pupil of Émile Sauret, Ebenezer Prout, and Stewart Macpherson. He was later named a Fellow of the RAM in 1947. He began his career in England working as a concert violinist, orchestral player, and conductor. During this time he married his wife Cecilia who was a pianist that had been trained by a pupil of Clara Schumann. Their son William Waterhouse also became a notable violinist and pedagogue.

Sometime around the year 1910, Waterhouse left England for the United States to join the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. He left that post in 1914 to move to Winnipeg, Canada. He lived in Winnipeg for the rest of his life, spending more than five decades teaching and performing in that city. He was responsible for introducing works by several English composers to the city. From 1923-1927 he conducted the Winnipeg Orchestral Club and from 1934-1936 he conducted the Winnipeg String Orchestra.