Wesley Octavius Forsyth (January 26, 1859 – May 7, 1937) was a Canadian pianist, composer[1] and music educator based in Toronto, Ontario. Most of his compositions were written for the piano and voice.[2][3]
While studying in Leipzing, Forsyth wrote articles for Toronto's The Musical Courier, and created his first successful composition, "Romanza", as part of his Suite in E minor, in 1888. The piece was performed in Leipzig that year by a military orchestra.[5] He made his debut that year as a solo pianist, but did not achieve success as an instrumental performer, and returned to Toronto to teach. In 1892 he travelled to Vienna and Ischl to study with Julius Epstein[2] In 1893 he was the director of Toronto's Metropolitan College of Music, later renamed Metropolitan School of Music.[5][6]
In the 1890s he wrote music reviews and other articles for the publications The Musician and The Week.
By 1913 his compositions had been published internationally,[4] and he continued to produce a large volume of work after World War I.[7] By 1923, his pupils had formed a "Forsyth Club", and a number of his works were performed on the radio.[7]
A collection of Forsyth's papers and other documents about his life are preserved at the National Library of Canada.[8]
