Elaine Keillor, C.M., B.A. (Hon.), Ph.D., ARCT
Elaine Keillor, will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Saturday, November 12, “in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the appreciation, knowledge and understanding of Canadian music through outstanding work as a performer, recording artist, arts advocate, researcher and teacher.”
Dr. Keillor made her first public appearance as pianist before her third birthday. At the age of 10, she completed requirements for the associate degree in piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music, the youngest on record for six decades. She embarked on university studies and became the first woman to graduate with a doctoral degree in musicology from the University of Toronto in 1976. She joined Carleton in 1977 as the Music program’s first female professor and now serves as Distinguished Research Professor Emerita.
She has received numerous honours and awards, including the Chappell Medal as outstanding Commonwealth pianist (1958), teaching and research awards including the Merit Award from Carleton University (1981), Canadian Women’s Mentor Award (1999), Outstanding ORMTA Teacher Award (2000), Helmut Kallmann Prize for Distinguished Service (2004), CUMS Honorary Life Membership (2009), CMC Ambassador (2009), and the SOCAN/CUMS Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research in Canadian Music (2013).
Dr. Keillor was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2016 based on her work on the musical traditions of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.
Thomas R. Louttit
Thomas R. Louttit will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 2 p.m. ceremony on Saturday, November 12, “in recognition of his wise leadership and gracious service to the community as an Elder and the inspiration he offers those he mentors and those privileged to witness his actions which constitute an honourable model of personal reconciliation and education.”
From 1953 to 1963, Mr. Louttit attended residential schools in Ontario and Quebec. In 1963, he was placed in the care of the Children’s Aid Society. As an adult, he moved to Toronto where he became a flat roofer, a career that would last 32 years.
In 1994, he graduated from the Ontario Native Counsellors Program. He is a traditional Sweat Lodge Keeper and the Keeper of the Traditional Pipe. Mr. Louttit is a respected Elder in the Ottawa community. The community relies on him for traditional teachings, counselling, spiritual guidance, traditional ceremonies, and land-based education and culture programs.
Mr. Louttit regularly speaks to schools and community groups about his experiences within the residential school system and his personal healing journey.
In 2014, the Aboriginal Veterans of Canada presented him with the Queen’s Jubilee Metal. He is the father of Erica and Thomas Wilson (deceased), a grandfather of 17 and great-grandfather of two girls. He currently lives in Ottawa with his wife Pennie.