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.