Rosario Bourdon

Canadian musician Rosario Bourdon was an influential in the early days of the recording era as a performer, conductor, arranger, and composer. He was born near Montreal to musical parents who started him on the cello at the age of seven. His parents immediately recognized his talents and he enrolled in the Ghent Conservatory in Belgium in 1897, where he studied cello with Joseph Jacob. During his first year in Ghent, Bourdon won a first prize in cello, then embarked on a European tour, eventually returning to Canada by 1899. Frustrated with the limited musical opportunities in...