Faculty of Music

Eighteen faculty members from across the University of Toronto have been appointed Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada – a prestigious distinction given to the country’s most distinguished scholars, artists and scientists.

“The University of Toronto is immensely proud to see such a high number of our faculty members elected to the Royal Society of Canada,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “These researchers are at the forefront of disciplines that span the arts, social sciences, humanities and sciences, and their work stands to have a significant impact on academic inquiry, policy and societal well-being.”

The 2024 Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada are:

Kamari Clarke of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Simon Coleman of the department for the study of religion in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Susan George of the University Health Network and the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Willi Goetschel of the department of Germanic languages and literatures in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Aiyun Huang of the Faculty of Music
Hae-Young Kee of the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Kang Lee of the department of applied psychology and human development in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Ren-Ke Li of the University Health Network and the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Mathieu Lupien of the University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Mark McGowan of the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Kent Moore of the department of chemical and physical sciences at ��οMississauga
Jim Phillips of the Faculty of Law
John Rubinstein of the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Brigitte Shim of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
Raquel Urtasun of the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Balint Virag of the department of computer and mathematical sciences at ��οScarborough
Lucan Alan Way of the department of political science at ��οScarborough
Stephen Wright of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science

Read the Royal Society of Canada press release

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Ellie Hisama and Mahua Sarkar named members of the Institute for Advanced Study

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 17:03:40 +0000

Ellie Hisama and Mahua Sarkar named members of the Institute for Advanced Study

Research & Innovation

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 07/09/2024 - 13:03

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L-R: Ellie Hisama and Mahua Sarkar (photo of Hisama by Johnny Guatto)

Ellie Hisama, dean and professor of music at the Faculty of Music, and Mahua Sarkar, professor in the department of sociology at ��οScarborough, have been named members of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) for 2024-25.

Established in 1930 in Princeton, N.J., IAS is dedicated to advancing fundamental discovery in an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment. Each year, the institute welcomes more than 250 of the most promising senior and post-doctoral researchers and scholars to carry out cutting-edge research across four areas: historical studies, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences.

Hisama’s stint at the IAS will see her focus on a book project on composer and musician Julius Eastman, titled The Fragment and the Long Song of Julius Eastman. “It is a highlight of my career to be part of the IAS, an institution I have long admired for its steadfast support of field-changing research,” Hisama said. “It is a special honour to be part of an institution where Natalie Zemon Davis, the distinguished historian and ��οprofessor, was a member.”

Sarkar will also work on a book, titled Moving Stories: Contemporary Guest Work and Bangladeshi Contract Migrants. "It is an honour and a privilege to be asked to join the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton as a member," Sarkar said. "Having spent time at similar institutes in Europe and Asia in the past, I have a deep appreciation for the quality of intellectual exchange possible at such institutions, and the time they afford for reflection and writing.

"And of course, the IAS in Princeton is the oldest of such spaces, and has served as a model for many others. In short, I am thrilled."

Hisama and Sarkar join the ranks of several ��οfaculty members to have been appointed to the prestigious institute, whose past and present scholars include 35 Nobel Laureates, 44 of the 62 Fields Medalists, several MacArthur and Guggenheim fellows and winners of the Wolf, Holberg, Kluge and Pulitzer Prizes.

Read the Faculty of Music story on Ellie Hisama

Read about Mahua Sarkar's research

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Institute for Advanced Study

Alumnus Matthew Cairns named a winner of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition

lanthierj — Fri, 20 May 2022 19:27:20 +0000

Alumnus Matthew Cairns named a winner of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition

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lanthierj Fri, 05/20/2022 - 15:27

Alumni

St. George

Faculty of Music

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Matthew Cairns (photo courtesy of Cairns)

Tenor Matthew Cairns, a University of Toronto alumnus and member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, is a winner of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.

Formerly known as the National Council Auditions, the competition crowned six winners who performed live and on-stage at the Met on May 1.

"Matthew Cairns' formidable success is a tribute to his single-minded engagement to accomplish his goals,” Associate Professor Darryl Edwards of the Faculty of Music said. “Equally extraordinary is Matt's ongoing mentorship [of ��οstudents]. He is an exemplary artist-citizen who knows what it takes to grow singing skills and performing integrity in a supportive environment.

“He has always had the instrument and the ability and now has an incredible command of the performing moment.”

Cairns, who recently signed with IMG Artists and is currently appearing in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of The Magic Flute, follows in the footsteps of alumna Emily D’Angelo, who won in 2016.

Rea Beaumont receives 2021 SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research

lanthierj — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 20:11:05 +0000

Rea Beaumont receives 2021 SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Fri, 01/07/2022 - 15:11

Faculty

St. George

Faculty of Music

SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research in Canadian Music

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Rea Beaumont has received the 2021 SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research in Canadian Music from the Canadian University Music Society and the SOCAN Foundation.

The award recognizes research and scholarship in Canadian music and composers that leads to greater understanding of Canadian music among scholars, musicians, performers and audiences.

In a statement, the organizations praised the work of Beaumont, an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, saying: “Her academic and artistic research outcomes are exemplified by her book on Barbara Pentland, her podcasts, websites, blogs, teaching and course design, articles, interviews, composer collaborations, over 60 world premieres of Canadian works, as well as papers, reviews, and her mentorships and adjudications.”

Beaumont says she is deeply honoured to have her expertise in Canadian music and culture recognized by the organizations.

“Since the beginning of my career I have shared Canadian music internationally through my solo piano concerts, many publications, and my own compositions,” Beaumont says. “As a proud Canadian I am committed to introducing audiences around the world to the music of this country and highlighting our cultural diversity."

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Connaught New Researcher Awards recognize 53 faculty members across University of Toronto

lanthierj — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 14:53:15 +0000

Connaught New Researcher Awards recognize 53 faculty members across University of Toronto

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Fri, 08/27/2021 - 10:53

Connaught New Researcher Awards

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Music

IBME

OISE

Rotman School of Management

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

��οMississauga

��οScarborough

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The University of Toronto has recognized 53 faculty members across the three campuses with the Connaught New Researcher Award.

“I am elated to receive this award and recognition for my work,” said Kyle Ganson of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, who is investigating the phenomenon known as bio-hacking. “My hope is that these findings will help promote the health and well-being of young people by ensuring that assessment and treatment protocols are informed and resources are allocated appropriately.”

Designed to help winners establish a strong research program and increase their competitiveness for external funding, the award is supported by the Connaught Fund and is part of U of T’s commitment to fostering excellence in research and innovation by supporting faculty members who are in the early stages of their academic careers.

“These researchers are doing important and innovative work across the humanities, life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and social sciences,” said Professor Leah Cowen, U of T’s associate vice-president, research. “Kaja Jasinska’s research will help us understand the impact of interrupted schooling on the development neural systems for reading of resettled refugee children. Kevin White’s work on decolonizing Haudenosaunee oral history will develop collaborative research methods with Six Nations of the Grand River – and Yun William Yu will develop new mathematical algorithms and computer software for analyzing genome sequences.

“They – along with 50 other faculty members across the university – will create knowledge that has a significant impact on people’s lives, thanks to the support of the Connaught Fund.”

Read about award-winner John Calarco

Read about award-winner Rafael Montenegro-Burke

Read about award winners at ��οEngineering

Read about award winners at the Faculty of Arts & Science

Read about award winners at Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Read about award winners at ��οScarborough

See the complete list of Connaught New Researchers

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Farzaneh Hemmasi receives award from Connaught Community Research Partnerships Program

lanthierj — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 17:58:37 +0000

Farzaneh Hemmasi receives award from Connaught Community Research Partnerships Program

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Thu, 10/01/2020 - 13:58

Faculty

St. George

Faculty of Music

Connaught Community Research Partnerships Program

��οMississauga

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Associate Professor Farzaneh Hemmasi of the Faculty of Music has received an award from the Connaught Community Research Partnerships Program for her project, Keeping Kensington “Kensington”: Value and Affordability in Toronto’s Kensington Market.

The project will build on relationships initiated through the University of Toronto Ethnography Lab’s Kensington Market Research Project and Hemmasi’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded research on music, sound, and noise in Kensington Market.

“Everyone knows that Toronto is increasingly unaffordable. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of the rising residential and commercial real estate prices that not only make it difficult for many people to live or operate a business downtown but simultaneously threaten the social and cultural diversity Torontonians are so proud of,” Hemmasi said. “Residents and business owners in Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood experience these pressures every day, and have come up with many creative ways to address the forces that endanger their neighbourhood’s distinctiveness.

“I’m thrilled that the Connaught Community Research Partnership Program has funded this project, a collaboration between resident-led activist organization Friends of Kensington Market (FOKM), the Kensington Market Business Improvement Area (KMBIA), and ��οethnomusicologists and anthropologists, to better understand the interplay of value, (un)affordability, and culture in Kensington Market,” Hemmasi said. “I also want to thank and acknowledge the many contributions of Assistant Professor and Ethnography Lab Senior Researcher Andrew Gilbert of ��οMississauga to the proposal and project as it is unfolding.

“It's a great collaboration all around.”

An ethnomusicologist, Hemmasi is the author of the recently released Tehrangeles Dreaming, Intimacy and Imagination in Southern California's Iranian Pop Music.

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Five researchers win awards from Connaught Community Partnerships Research Program

lanthierj — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 17:11:57 +0000

Five researchers win awards from Connaught Community Partnerships Research Program

Research & Innovation

Community

lanthierj Thu, 10/01/2020 - 13:11

Faculty

St. George

Faculty of Music

Faculty of Arts & Science

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Connaught Community Partnerships Research Awards

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Clockwise from top left: Pamela Klassen, Michelle Firestone, Laura Rosella, Lori Ross, Farzaneh Hemmasi

Five University of Toronto researchers have received awards from the Connaught Community Partnerships Research Program – for projects that explore everything from what makes Kensington Market a distinctive neighbourhood to the experiences and knowledge of community workers during the pandemic.

“The Connaught Community Partnerships Research Program has recognized collaborations between ��οresearchers and a diverse array of partners including local business improvement areas, community health organizations and community groups,” said University Professor Ted Sargent, vice-president research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “These researchers are doing important work with their community partners – and these awards will help them to build on each others’ knowledge, expertise and capabilities.

“ I look forward to seeing how these collaborations evolve and strengthen the relationships between researchers and their community partners.”

The winners and their projects are:

Michelle Firestone, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Community Voice and Leadership from within Institutionalized Care Models: Lessons from COVID-19
Farzaneh Hemmasi, Faculty of Music, Keeping Kensington “Kensington”: Value and Affordability in Toronto’s Kensington Market
Pamela Klassen, Faculty of Arts & Science, Treaty Teachings: How Universities, Communities, and Museums Can Work Together to Tell the History of Treaty 3
Laura Rosella, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Community Partnerships in Action: Using Data Science to Improve Population Health, Community Safety and Community Wellbeing
Lori Ross, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (2SLGBTQ+) Ontarians’ Experiences with Social Assistance: Conducting Preliminary Research to Nurture Partnerships in the Area of 2SLGBTQ+ Poverty and Health

The Connaught Community Partnerships Research Program is supported by the Connaught Fund – the largest, internal university research funding program in Canada. Established in 1972 through the sale of the Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, the fund has provided nearly $170 million to ��οscholars through a range of programs including the Connaught New Researcher Award, the Connaught Global Challenge Award, the Connaught Innovation Award, the McLean Award and international doctoral scholarships.

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Faculty of Music

18 faculty members elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada

Read the Royal Society of Canada press release

Ellie Hisama and Mahua Sarkar named members of the Institute for Advanced Study

Read the Faculty of Music story on Ellie Hisama

Read about Mahua Sarkar's research

Alumnus Matthew Cairns named a winner of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition

Read more about Matthew Cairns

Rea Beaumont receives 2021 SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Award of Excellence for the Advancement of Research

Connaught New Researcher Awards recognize 53 faculty members across University of Toronto

See the complete list of Connaught New Researchers

Farzaneh Hemmasi receives award from Connaught Community Research Partnerships Program

Five researchers win awards from Connaught Community Partnerships Research Program