Renowned Canadian conductor Boris Brott remembered after alleged hit-and-run in Hamilton, Ont.

The sound of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” rang out at Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton on Sunday at the funeral for Boris Brott, one of Canada’s most prominent conductors.

The small chamber orchestra played before a congregation filled with family, friends, and collaborators of the maestro -- whose life was cut short after an alleged hit-and-run in the city.

“Since he was taken from us, I’ve been trying to find ways to be close to him again,” Brott’s son, David, said Sunday. “Wearing his clothes, hanging out in his office, cracking terrible jokes. Music helps, a lot. Old memories, photos, videos and inside jokes are good too. It’s great to feel his presence in a room.”

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On Tuesday, police said they had received a report of a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road on the Hamilton Mountain just after 10 a.m. Twenty minutes later, police said, a pedestrian was struck.

Brott, 78, was rushed to hospital following the crash near Park Avenue South at Markland Street, just south of the downtown core. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Brott’s passing sent reverberations throughout Canada’s classical music community, especially in his hometown of Hamilton, where Mayor Fred Eisenberger described him as a “man of the people.”

“Boris leaves a legacy of musical excellence and humanitarianism that is unmatched and it is a void in Hamilton that will be very, very difficult to fill,” Eisenberger said at Sunday’s service.

“Such a tragic loss felt by so many people.”

Brott served as the conductor and artistic director of the Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM), which confirmed his death in a statement issued following the crash.

In a eulogy, the OCM’s executive director, Taras Kulish, spoke about Brott’s passion for the arts and his efforts to bring classical music back to the city of Hamilton through the Brott Music Festival.

“Boris never stopped innovating and creating…He was truly a kid at heart with a never-ending source of energy,” Kulish said.

Tributes have continued to pour in following the beloved conductor’s untimely death, including those from The Royal Conservatory, former prime minister Kim Campbell, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, actor Eugene Levy, and Hamilton-based band, the Arkells.

An Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario, most recently, Brott had been organizing concerts online amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health restrictions all but shuttered venues where classical music could be enjoyed.

The Ukrainian-Canadian had also been planning a benefit concert for those in Ukraine suffering under the Russian invasion.

CRASH INVESTIGATION ONGOING

An investigation into Tuesday’s crash is ongoing and Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has been called in after three officers and the suspect were injured during their arrest.

Police allege the driver fled the scene following the collision, but was apprehended a short distance away.

Officers with Hamilton police followed the vehicle and tried to stop it, according to the SIU. The suspect vehicle subsequently collided with several police vehicles, the SIU said.