Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, CC (18 August 1893 – 6 May 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight".

His contributions to the development of music in Canada were sustained and varied, as conductor, performer, composer, administrator, lecturer, adjudicator, writer, humourist, and statesman.

His talents astonished the public and critics alike in 1904 when he performed in the "Festival of Lillies", which "firmly established him a prodigy".

MacMillan was initially detained by the German police, and then imprisoned as an enemy alien, as Canada had declared war on Imperial Germany on 5 August.

MacMillan was subsequently interned for the duration of the war at Ruhleben, a British civilian detention camp, located on the site of a former horse racing track, on the outskirts of Berlin.

During this period, he became a prominent member of the Ruhleben Musical Society and directed performances of The Mikado (with orchestra) and a pantomime version of Cinderella.

MacMillan was also a member of the Ruhleben Drama Society and acted in productions of Othello, Twelfth Night, and The Importance of Being Earnest.

[8] Upon return to Canada in 1919, MacMillan was appointed organist and choirmaster in Toronto at the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.

Another annual tradition Macmillan initiated during his career includes the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's Christmas-time performance of Handel's Messiah.

[10] As many theatre musicians were out of work during the Depression era, MacMillan hired them to play in these evening concerts on a regular basis.

As a result, MacMillan was able to select much more ambitious repertoire for this stronger performing force, as well as lengthening its season, and increased their number of concerts.

[10] The entry of Canada into WWII proved to be "a difficult period",[attribution needed][11] but it was during the post-war years that his conducting was regaled as being "the most successful in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's history".

He included Canadian music, as well as works by Hungarian and Russian composers Béla Bartók, and Dmitri Shostakovich.

[15] Influenced by the "war-time style and themes",[attribution needed][15] the first performance of this piece was heard on 8 February 1925, by the Hart House String Quartet,[16] and was conducted by MacMillan himself.

[17] In 1927, he travelled alongside Marius Barbeau to the Nass River region of British Columbia to "hear, record and notate music of the Tsimshian People".

Upon returning to Canada after the war, MacMillan relaunched his later career as a performer by giving 5 organ recitals commissioned by the Canadian Academy of Music from November 1919 to March 1920.

[22] Alongside musicians Zara Nelsova (cellist) and Kathleen Parlow (violinist), MacMillan often performed in Toronto and occasionally elsewhere.

MacMillan was sent to lead examination tours at McGill University in Southern Ontario, and in various parts of the west coast on the Academy's behalf.

[26] He also started the first opera classes at the conservatory in 1920, with performances of Hansel and Gretel, The Sorcerer, Dido and Aeneas and Hugh the Drover.

[30] Focusing on all primary, junior and senior levels, the program ran for 45 minutes with soloists accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

[32] MacMillan received the Canada Council Medal twice (1964 and 1973) for "outstanding achievements in the arts, humanities or social sciences".

[34] Honorary degrees conferred upon MacMillan, include: An Elementary School was named in his honour in Scarborough, Ontario in 1978.

The Sir Ernest MacMillan Collection at Library and Archives Canada consists of 21.7 linear metres of material.

A special Exhibition, Sir Ernest MacMillan (1893–1973): Portrait of a Canadian Musician was mounted by the former National Library of Canada from 17 October 1994 to 12 March 1995.

The principal goal of the Foundation is to assist young musicians in their advanced education at the graduate level and in so doing commemorate a great Canadian and his unique career.

The Foundation accepts donations from individuals and organizations interested in furthering the musical arts in Canada through its awards program.

1 the TSO performed Jamaican Rhumba, À St. Malo (one of MacMillan's own compositions), and the overture to the opera Colas Breugnon.

MacMillan conducted the TSO in a number of recordings with Canadian pianist Glenn Gould as soloist, playing works by various composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.