Leonard Peter Ratzlaff, CM, AOE (born January 27, 1949) is the choral conductor for Edmonton's Richard Eaton Singers. Born in Swalwell, Alberta, [1] he obtained his graduate degree in choral conducting from the University of Iowa, and his doctoral dissertation on Anton Bruckner's Te Deum earned him the American Choral Directors Association Julius Herford Dissertation Prize. A professor of Choral Music at the University of Alberta since 1981, he also conducts the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, and co-supervises the largest graduate program in choral conducting in Canada. His honours include induction into the City of Edmonton Hall of Fame, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for distinguished service to Canadian choral music, induction into the Alberta Order of Excellence, induction as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and being named to the Order of Canada. In 2011, he and RES celebrated 30 years of his leadership as conductor.
Gregory Hollingshead, CM is a Canadian novelist. He was formerly a professor of English at the University of Alberta, and he lives in Toronto, Ontario.
The Alberta Order of Excellence is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Alberta. Instituted in 1979 when Lieutenant Governor Frank C. Lynch-Staunton granted royal assent to the Alberta Order of Excellence Act, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former Alberta residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Canadian Crown in right of Alberta.
Sir David Valentine Willcocks, was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, which he directed from 1957 to 1974, making frequent broadcasts and recordings. Several of the descants and carol arrangements he wrote for the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols were published in the series of books Carols for Choirs which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter. He was also director of the Royal College of Music in London.
Mel Hurtig was a Canadian publisher, author, political activist, and political candidate. He was president of the Edmonton Art Gallery. He described himself as a Canadian nationalist, while he also wrote several books critical of Canadian government policy.
Thomas Benjamin Banks was a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and senator.
The orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces, in which each province of Canada has devised a system of orders and other awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or province, are in turn subsumed within the Canadian honours system. Each province sets its own rules and criteria for eligibility and also for how each award is presented. Most of the awards allow for the recipients to wear their awards in public, and most grant the recipients the use of post-nominal letters after their names. Not all of the awards listed below are part of the Canadian honours system, thus some of them may not be worn or court mounted with awards that are part of the Canadian honours system.
Ronald Donald Southern, was a Canadian businessman. He was the founder and chairman of Calgary-based ATCO Group, and the founder of the Spruce Meadows equestrian centre.
William Arthur Cochrane, was a Canadian physician, pediatrician, academic, and medical executive.
Ralph Allwood is a British choral conductor, composer and teacher, who currently holds the appointment of Fellow Commoner advising in Music at Queens' College, Cambridge. He was previously the Precentor and Director of Music at Eton College between 1985 and 2011. He had previously headed the music departments at Pangbourne and Uppingham.
Howard Dyck, CM is a Canadian conductor, public speaker, and radio broadcaster born in Winkler, Manitoba, now living Waterloo, Ontario. He is most well known as the longtime host of CBC Radio programmes Choral Concert and Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, which he hosted from 1987-2007.
Iwan Edwards was a Welsh-born Canadian choral conductor. Over a forty-year span he founded and conducted several choirs. He was appointed Member of the Order of Canada in 1995.
By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, Canada's monarchy operates in Alberta as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within Alberta's jurisdiction is referred to as the Crown in Right of Alberta, His Majesty in Right of Alberta, or The King in Right of Alberta. The Constitution Act, 1867, however, leaves many royal duties in Alberta specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy.
Robert Romeo De Cormier Jr., sometimes known as Robert Corman, was an American musical conductor, arranger, and director. He arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, Paul and Mary, and worked with Milt Okun.
James Anthony O'Donnell is a British organist, choral conductor and academic teacher who has been a professor of organ at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in Connecticut, United States, since 2023.
Gerald Richard Fagan is considered one of Canada's premier choral conductors. He is the former Conductor and Artistic Director of Fanshawe Chorus London, The Gerald Fagan Singers, and the Concert Players Orchestra. He has been married to Marlene Fagan since 1961. They have five children; Leslie, Louise, Judy, Jennifer and Jonathon.
Richard Andrew Sparks is an American choral conductor. He is one of the leading figures in choral music in the Pacific Northwest and in Scandinavian, especially Swedish a cappella, choral music.
Robert Daniel Steadward, is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics. He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport. He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Thomas Joseph Walsh was a Canadian lawyer, practising in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to a busy legal practice, he was very active in his community and profession, including serving a term as national president of the Canadian Bar Association. His community involvement was recognised by his appointment to the Order of Canada and to the Alberta Order of Excellence.