MacMillan, Sir Ernest Campbell (1893-1973), was a Canadian conductor, composer, organist, and educator. He brought professional standards to Canadian classical music. MacMillan conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1931 to 1956. He served as principal of the Toronto Conservatory of Music from 1926 to 1942. He was dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto from 1927 to 1952. His performances of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Passion According to St. Matthew, which he directed nearly every year from 1923 to 1957, were famous throughout Canada.
MacMillan composed the ballad opera Prince Charming (1933), orchestral music, choruses, songs, and a string quartet. He compiled A Book of Songs (1929), a popular school text. MacMillan was born in Mimico, Ontario. He was knighted in 1935.
