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In Memoriam Eli Kassner 1924-2018

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We were deeply saddened by the passing of our founder, great friend and inspiration, Eli Kassner.  Eli passed away August 24, 2018 at the age of 94. We will miss his energy, his inspiration and his creativity but we are forever grateful to him for the gift of his knowledge and passion for the guitar. As many of you know, Eli arrived in Canada in 1951 as an orphan of the Holocaust, with little money and equally little English. Nevertheless he found work, first in a music store (practicing his… 

President’s Message 2018-2019

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Welcome to the 2018-19 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! This season we are privileged to welcome many exciting international artists to our concert stage. Several – such as the Texas Guitar Quartet, our season opener – are making their first-ever appearance in Toronto.  Others are making welcome return appearances – including Paraguayan virtuoso Berta Rojas, whose performance here five years ago was one of our most popular and successful concerts. Berta will be the feature artist at the sixth Toronto Guitar Weekend next April – a wonderful opportunity… 

Order the Biography of our Founder, Eli Kassner

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‘Truly, Eli Kassner has lived a life full of liveliness, spirit, and joy – allegro vivace con brio.’ This autobiography by Guitar Society of Toronto founder Eli Kassner, with Jack Silver was published in 2016, the year the Guitar Society of Toronto celebrated its 60th anniversary, and coincidentally the same year Eli Kassner was awarded the Order of Canada. Costs listed include shipping within Canada, the US or International.  Select your location. Allegro Vivace con Brio, the Life of Eli Kassner

Sad news about Ann Kassner

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It is with great sadness that we announce that Ann Kassner passed away on the afternoon of Saturday, August 12, 2017. For more than forty years Ann was Eli Kassner’s constant companion, his beloved partner both in guitar and in life. Through their years together Ann partnered with Eli in everything — from teaching and travelling the world, to creating the world’s first international guitar festivals, to working together in the garden they loved. Hundreds of people who shared her passion for the guitar, from the world’s finest performers to… 

President’s Message for the 2017-18 Season

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Welcome to the 2017-18 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! The season opens September 16 with a concert by the extraordinarily versatile American guitarist David Leisner.  As you can see on our Concerts page, we continue throughout the year with many exciting international artists coming to perform for us. The regular season will conclude in March with the return to Toronto of the Grammy Award winning virtuoso David Russell, who has not performed here in many years. April will feature the fifth version of our very popular Toronto Guitar… 

Society Founder Eli Kassner Awarded Order of Canada

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We are delighted to tell you that on June 30, the Government of Canada announced that our founder Eli Kassner has been named to the Order of Canada, our country’s highest civilian honour. The Order of Canada “recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to  the community and service to the nation.  The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country. Eli’s contributions to music in Canada have been immense. When he… 

Message from the President

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Welcome to the 2015-16 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! I am honoured to greet you as the newly elected president of this venerable organization, and am well aware of the responsibility of heading up one of the oldest and most respected guitar societies in the world. The Society was founded by Eli Kassner in 1956: this season we will be celebrating of our 60th anniversary! We begin with a special reception at our first concert in September, and continue throughout the year. Join us for the Toronto Guitar… 

The Guitar Society turns 60!

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This year we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Guitar Society of Toronto. This makes us one of the oldest continuously operating guitar societies in the world. In the mid-50s, Eli Kassner and a group of students, friends, and aficionados, met regularly to sing, play guitar, and of course eat and drink. This led to the creation of the Society in December 1956 with Andres Segovia as the Honorary President. Now, sixty years later, we are stronger than ever. Come celebrate with us this special year!

Guitar Society of Toronto