Elaine Adair, Christopher Montgomery and Gerald and Marlene Fagan lead an all-star lineup of alumni to be inducted into the Don Wright Faculty of Music Alumni Wall of Fame at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Great Hall.
Adair (BMus’73, MA’78) practiced law in Vancouver, developing expertise in complex civil litigation, in particular class action defence and corporate-commercial disputes, before being named a Supreme Court judge in 2008.
Montgomery (BMusA’89) has performed with luminaries of the music universe, such as Joe Pass, Ben Heppner, Sir Simon Rattle and Sammy Nestico. He played a key role in a number of companies that transformed the music industry including Diamond Multimedia Systems, where as director he developed the Rio portable MP3 player as well as RioPort.com and MP3.com, where he launched the first on-demand music subscription model in 2000. He has held senior positions at Vivendi Universal, BMG Music and Egon Zehnder International, as well as head of EMI Classics North America and vice-president of Global Consumer Digital.
Gerald (BA’61) and Marlene Fagan have contributed to choral music throughout Canada. Their partnership took them from Sir Adam Beck S.S. in London to Listowel to several provincial choirs and back to London with Fanshawe Chorus London, Gerald Fagan Singers and Concert Players Orchestra.
Other inductees include:
- Sharon Wei (BMus’00), who has appeared as soloist with orchestras around the globe and teaches at Stanford University;
- Tafelmusik’s Charlotte Nediger Taurins (BMus’79, MMus’83), called “one of the finest exponents of the harpsichord,” according to critic William Littler;
- Trudy Bradley (BA’66, MMus’81), an Ottawa music teacher who received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999;
- organist John Vandertuin (BMus’82, MMus’88), recipient of many international awards and accolades; and
- Ruth Morawetz (BA’52), pianist and impresario who has collaborated with Canadian performers including Maureen Forester, Ben Heppner, Adrianne Pieczonka, Louse Pitre and Karen Kain.
The celebration at the Great Hall will include performances by current Music students.