Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory Room Dedication in Memory of Ann Southam

Ann Southam (1937-2010) was one of Canada's most prominent composers of new music, an influential teacher, an advocate of the arts and a great philanthropist. Her oeuvre encompassed several compositional styles and genres: twelve-tone music, lyrical Neoromanticism, electroacoustic music, and postminimalism.

Famous for her electroacoustic music, Ann composed for several modern dance companies and choreographers. In recent years, she abandoned electroacoustic composition and returned to traditional instruments, mainly the piano. She also had a strong interest in music education, reaching out to young people through her participation in "composer-in-the-classroom" programs for elementary and high school students and her participation as guest composer at Studea Musica Summer Institute. Ann Southam's Relationship with the University of Ottawa.

From the very beginning, Ann was a strong supporter of the Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory. She attended the Lab's official opening ceremonies and became a member of the Friends of the Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory. She attended many promotional and fundraising activities and was an enthusiastic advocate for the Lab among her contacts in the music community. She followed the Lab's research developments with keen interest, and even composed some original music to very specific requirements for one of the Lab's projects; several of the Lab's graduate students have completed their master's theses using her compositions to collect their data.

Ann was particularly interested in the Lab's research on music reading, admitting that she had become interested in electro-acoustic music because she had always felt that she was a slow reader. In 2006 she established the Ann Southam Music Reading Fund in order to promote research in this area. Ann normally made her philanthropic contributions anonymously as she did not want any public recognition, however in this case she believed it was important to emphasize both her association with the Lab and the research her donations were helping to realize.

The Official Room Dedication

As a way of further honouring Ann's continuous support of the Lab one of the four rooms encompassing the Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory at the University of Ottawa will be renamed the Ann Southam Room. On Friday, October 28th, 2011 a celebration will be held to officially dedicate the room to Ann; an evening which will include many distinguished speakers and a concert featuring her music.