Otto Joachim was a Canadian composer of German origin. Trained as a violinist, he fled the Nazis to the Far East (1934-49), then settled in Montréal as a viola player, teacher, instrument builder and composer. His compositions, mostly dating from his Canadian period, include 12-tone, aleatoric, and electroacoustic works. In January 2008, he receives the “Tribute Award” of the Prix Opus from the Conseil québécois de la musique.