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Concert Hall named for jazz great Oscar Peterson
The Concordia University Concert Hall will be renamed the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall at a gala concert on Saturday, October 16.
Montreal-born Oscar Peterson is one of the world's greatest musicians, a true jazz original whose work spans 50 years of creativity and performance around the world.
Making the announcement, Rector Frederick Lowy said, "Oscar Peterson exemplifies the values that our university strives to pass on to its students: excellence, dedication and deep concern for others."
Peterson received an honorary degree from Concordia in 1979, and the Loyola Medal in 1997. He has been awarded 13 honorary doctorates, the Governor-General's Performing Arts Award and a lifetime achievement Grammy, and he is a Companion of the Order of Canada.
The ceremony will take the form of a gala concert at the hall, which is on the Loyola Campus, featuring, among others, the big band of veteran Montreal jazzman Vic Vogel and Wray Downes, who has taught at Concordia and played with Peterson. Attendance will be by invitation only due to limited seating capacity.
Ireland supports Irish studies at Concordia
The government of Ireland delighted supporters of an Irish studies program at Concordia with the surprise announcement of a substantial donation.
The announcement of the gift of £100,000, or approximately $220,000, coincided with a visit in June by Prime Minister Jean ChrŽtien.
Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern told ChrŽtien and other guests at a state dinner at Dublin Castle that the contribution was an expression of Ireland's gratitude for the help given to thousands of immigrants during the 1848 famine.
The Irish-Canadian Studies Foundation has been working for several years towards a fully funded program of teaching and research on Ireland and the rich history of the Irish in Canada. The fundraisers, among them many prominent Irish-Canadians, have nearly reached their goal of $2.5 million.
For the second year, they will hold a night at the horse races on September 15. The guest of honour for the gala evening at the Hippodrome de MontrŽal (formerly Blue Bonnets) will be Quebec Liberal Party leader Jean Charest. Former premier Daniel Johnson and Irish ambassador Paul Dempsey will also be there.
Dress is black tie, the evening includes cocktails and dinner, and the tickets are $300. Please call Brian Gallery at 939-0962, or Professor Michael Kenneally, executive director of the Foundation, at 848-7289.
Dr. Frederick Lowy. O.C.
Concordia Rector Frederick H. Lowy was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in July.
The honour was extended in recognition of his long commitment to education and health care. A distinguished psychiatrist and medical ethicist, he was dean of medicine and director of the Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto before coming to Concordia in August 1995.
The Order of Canada is our country's highest civilian honour, given to citizens who have made a significant difference in the lives of their fellow Canadians.
Suddenly mad
Suddenly Mad is the arresting title Bill Lichtenstein has given a lecture he will deliver here on September 29.
An award-winning U.S. journalist, Lichenstein can give vivid testimony to the havoc wreaked by mental illness. He will give the annual public John Hans Low-Beer Memorial Lecture, co-sponsored by Concordia's Department of Psychology and the AMI-Quebec Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Suddenly Mad will be presented at 7 p.m. on Wednesday,
September 29, in the Alumni Auditorium, Henry F. Hall Building,
1450 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Admission is free.
