OTTAWA, September 20, 2006 - The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, today announced the appointment of Susan Mary (Dyer) Knight, of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, as a part-time member of the Canada Council for the Arts.
"Ms. Knight has a wealth of experience in the fields of arts and culture, and this appointment will allow her to share her expertise with the Canada Council for the Arts," said Minister Oda.
Since 1990, Ms. Knight has served as an adjudicator, clinician, keynote speaker, and guest conductor both nationally and internationally. In 1992, she founded Shallaway - Newfoundland and Labrador Youth in Chorus, of which she is the artistic director. The same year, she was the guest lecturer in Music Education at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Knight was a sessional lecturer in Music Education at the Memorial University of Newfoundland's Faculty of Education, from 1992 to 2003, and a classroom and choral program teacher with the Avalon East School Board in St. John's, from 1983 to 2001.
Throughout her career, Ms. Knight has received many awards and honours, including the City of St. John's Heritage Award, in 2002, and the Woman of Distinction YM/YWCA Award (Newfoundland and Labrador), in 1998. She was named to the Order of Canada in 2004 and to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2005.
The Canada Council for the Arts fosters and promotes the study, enjoyment, and production of works in the arts by providing assistance to individual artists and arts organizations through a peer assessment process. It also administers the Public Lending Right program of payments to authors, coordinates the development of UNESCO activities in Canada, and coordinates Canadian participation in UNESCO activities abroad. For more information on the Council, please visit www.canadacouncil.ca
Information:
Véronique Bruneau
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
and Status of Women
819 997-7788
