End-of-year note from Dean Hisama
To the Faculty of Music Community,
As we head into the holiday break, I would like to note a few highlights from the past six months.
• A beautiful story about Dr. Swee Chua Goh’s generous gift of a Hamburg Steinway to the Faculty of Music in honour of his late wife, Lilian Wei-Chee Goh, is now posted here. Our thanks to Dr. Hye Won Cecilia Lee for penning this piece.
• Winter planters are now in front of EJB and 90 Wellesley, and orchids were placed in EJB as a project of the new Task Force on Equity and Belonging. More plants will be added to these buildings in 2022 to beautify our spaces.
• Funds from the Kenneth Peacock Endowment will support guest speakers to a range of classes in 2021-2022. Thank you to all who applied for these funds; award notifications will be sent soon.
• The search for the inaugural Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is underway with the support of Amorell Saunders N’Daw, Partner and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead at Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette (KBRS). Interviews will take place in early 2022.
• The external climate and culture review conducted by Rubin Thomlinson is proceeding well. There was a very good response rate to the surveys, with over 450 responses, and interviews are being conducted. I look forward to sharing the review’s themes and recommendations with you in 2022.
• A new fund from the Office of the Dean focusing on equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging will support a series of events towards healing and restoration – an exciting roster of events will be announced in Winter 2022.
• We are working on a regular Faculty of Music Newsletter that will communicate the many wonderful achievements of those in our community. As announced at Faculty Council, consultations with our community about a new website are underway. Stay tuned!
• To address food insecurity issues faced by graduate students over the holidays, the Office of the Dean has made available a limited number of gift cards to a local grocery. We are working on other ways to support our students in 2022 and beyond.
• Thank you to the members of the Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Committee (ARAO) and the Task Force of Equity and Belonging (TFEB) for their work this term. A note of appreciation to Heather Hines, Special Advisor in the Office of the Vice-President and Principal, UTM, for her administrative support this term, and to Margaret McKone, who joins us as Interim Director, Office of the Dean.
During these trying times, I offer my thanks to the Faculty of Music staff for their incredible work; the dedicated faculty, who have supported our educational mission creatively and effectively throughout the pandemic; and our students, for their stalwart commitment to pursuing their education amid many challenges. I am grateful for the kind support of the Faculty of Music community in my first months at the UofT and look forward to resuming our work in January.
Wishing you all a happy, safe, and peaceful holiday ahead, and looking forward to seeing you in the new year.
Warm regards,
Ellie M. Hisama
Dean, Faculty of Music
Professor of Music
University of Toronto
TORONTO
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TORONTO MUSIC
Home to Canada's largest number of musicians and venues, Toronto is a creative and business hub for music in Canada.
While in Toronto, plan on attending a performance of the Canadian Opera Company or the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Check out Toronto Life and Toronto (the official website of Tourism Toronto) for current shows, concerts and events.
There's music around every corner.
OUR U of T
We are very proud to be part of U of T—a vibrant university community located in an amazing city with global reach.
U of T is a leader in research and teaching, an intellectual environment unmatched in depth and breadth.
We live here.
U of T MUSIC
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto brings together creative and motivated students with outstanding educators. With extensive curricula in fields such as classical and jazz performance, music education, composition, music history, music theory, and ethnomusicology, the Faculty of Music also offers courses that explore music’s intersections with health sciences, technology, and humanities.
Our commitment to artistic and academic achievement, the vast possibilities of the University of Toronto campus, and the vibrant and diverse cultural life of Toronto provide an exciting and inspiring learning environment.
HEAR
Our season is well underway and there is so much to choose from.
Visit our online calendar often for concerts and events and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exciting premieres, livestreams and performances from our archives.