Coleção jhse-180 - Abraham I. Fratkin collection

Abraham I. Fratkin was born in 1889 in Russia. In 1903 he moved to China and joined an orchestra as a flautist. He stayed there for four years and then returned to Russia where he joined an orchestra in Kiev. In 1912 he immigrated to Canada to avoid military service and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, bringing the rest of his family over after. Fratkin became the musical director of the Allan theatres, and opened a theatre in Edmonton, Alberta in 1918. He became involved in the Jewish community in Edmonton as a member of the Hebrew Free Loan Society and other organizations, and he also formed his own orchestra at the Capitol Theatre called the Capitoliens. He opened a music store in 1928 called Art Music Limited, but the store closed during the depression. In 1943 he became the first conductor of the newly established Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He began teaching music in Edmonton and ca. 1951 moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where he opened a business.