Dr. Beverley Diamond has been named a member of the Order of Canada, one of Canada’s highest civilian honours. She is among 91 new appointees who will accept their award at a ceremony later this year.

As the country’s first and only Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in a music discipline (she is also cross-appointed to the Faculty of Arts through the Department of Folklore), Dr. Diamond’s influence is widespread. Her publications on the music practices of Inuit, First Nations of Eastern North America and Sami people of Northern Europe recognize the ascendant role of Aboriginal voices.

Her commitment to feminist musicology has led to the development of a research agenda exploring the gendering of musical practices. Her work in the field of Canadian music history has extended the range of music deemed worthy of study.

Dr. Diamond also has an astounding record as a mentor and an adviser and has been keynote speaker at almost every major international society that examines music and culture. The director of Memorial's Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place, in 2008 she was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and in 2010 she was named a Trudeau fellow.

I’d really like to honour the people who put the nomination together,” said Dr. Diamond. “I just have too many generous colleagues and friends – many of them former students now working across the country and elsewhere."

The Order of Canada, one of our country’s highest civilian honours, was established in 1967, during Canada’s centennial year, to recognize a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation. Over the last 45 years, more than 5,000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the order.