Eli Kassner celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday. He and Ann have been an inspiration to guitarists everywhere for more than three score years – a wonderful example of teaching, open mindedness, acceptance, enthusiasm and great hospitality leavened with a good dose of humour, gumption and a delight in life.
Thank you for your friendship, Dear EliAnn…
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Eli Kassner studied guitar in Vienna and Israel before moving to Canada in 1951. He also studied in the United States, Palestine, and in Spain, under the great virtuoso classical guitarist, Andrés Segovia. He performed until 1967.
In 1956, he founded the Guitar Society of Toronto.[1] He was its president from 1960 to 1966 and artistic director from 1970 to 2008. In 1967, he established the Eli Kassner Guitar Academy.
He established the guitar program at the University of Toronto and the The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (RCMT) in 1959 and started the University of Toronto Guitar Ensemble in 1978.