Debra Cairns Elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada

Congratulations to former ACCC president Debra Cairns who has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada. New fellows are elected by RSC peers each year in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Election to the academies of the Royal Society of Canada is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.

Cairns’ extraordinary contributions to choral music since she joined the University of Alberta in 1989 span the full spectrum of research and creative activity. An award-winning conductor and internationally published scholar, she has received recognition in both the performance and academic domains through CD publications, national broadcast recordings and competition prizes with her chamber choir i Coristi, as well as articles, a scholarly edition of a Renaissance mass, and a book.

“I am indeed deeply honoured and humbled to be named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,” said Cairns. “I have been the beneficiary of working with wonderful colleagues in the Department of Music and across the Faculty of Arts, who have inspired me through their creativity and thought-provoking research."

Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) comprises the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada. Its mission is to recognize scholarly, research and artistic excellence, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada and with other national academies around the world.

This year's new Fellows will be inducted to the academies of the RSC during the Induction and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Alberta.