Louis Applebaum

Who was Louis Applebaum?

Louis Applebaum, CC OOnt was a Canadian composer, administrator, and conductor.

He was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with Leo Smith and the University of Toronto with Boris Berlin, Healey Willan and Ernest MacMillan. He also studied composition privately in New York.

He composed music for numerous films, including the National Film Board of Canada productions Royal Journey, The Stratford Adventure and Paddle to the Sea.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for his score of the 1945 war film, The Story of G.I. Joe. He won a 1968 Canadian Film Award for his non-feature music score of Athabasca. He won a 1989 Gemini Award in the category Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series for Glory Enough for All.

He was Executive Director of the Ontario Arts Council and Vice-President of the Canadian League of Composers. He was the first music director of the Stratford Festival. His fanfares have opened every performance since the Festival started in 1953.

In 1976 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Applebaum was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 1989.