The university announced Tuesday that Keillor’s gift, which will include a bequest in her will, will be used to create the Helmut Kallmann Chair for Music in Canada, which will work with undergraduate and graduate students and research topics of Canadian music. The endowed position, named after the former head of the music division at Library Archives Canada, will also be supported by the Koerner Foundation.
“I’m thrilled to be doing this,” said Keillor, a 78-year-old musicologist and pianist who has taught at Carleton since 1977, specializing in the music of Canadian composers and the music of North American indigenous groups. She asked that the position’s name honour Kallmann to acknowledge his long career and “wonderful influence” on her life and on many other people.
“In many ways, the chairholder will follow in Mr. Kallmann’s footsteps, acting as a national and international ambassador for Canadian music,” said Brian Foss, director of Carleton’s School for Studies in Art and Culture. The search for a person to hold the position is to begin soon.
In 2014, separate funding from Keillor led to the creation of the Helmut Kallmann Graduate Scholarship in Canadian Music.
The announcement comes on the heels of Carleton’s music program marking its 50th anniversary. Also this month, the university’s board of governors approved a motion to begin negotiating the potential purchase of Dominion-Chalmers United Church, which could increase the university’s impact on music and the arts in Ottawa. The property could function as a performance space for Carleton students and faculty, and as a hub for artists and community groups.
Written by: Peter Hum