 He studied piano and theory in Prague and, following the Nazi takeover of his country in 1938, studied in Vienna and Paris.At the age of 19 he was recommended by George Szell for the assistant conductor's post with the Prague Opera.In 1940 he left Europe for Canada where he began teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1946, and in 1952 was appointed to the University of Toronto where he was professor of composition until his retirement in 1982.