Research areas: Performance of choral music. Fall 2025 performances include Beethoven’s Missa Selemnis, Handel’s Messiah with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and the Duruflé Requiem, John Shepard’s Media Vita, and Herbert Howells’ Take him, earth, for cherishing, with The Elora Singers.
Dr. Kathryn Ladano (BA 1999) began her academic studies in Music at Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo with a clear vision. Drawn to Grebel because of the flexible program that allowed her to study bass clarinet, she shaped her degree according to her interests. Today she is considered a visionary Canadian bass clarinetist who has redefined the instrument through a blend of traditional techniques with experimental soundscapes, expanding the instrument's horizons.
Mechanical Engineering
For Conrad Grebel University College resident Jared Dyck, studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo hasn’t just been about equations and design; it also came with a soundtrack. Thanks to his love of music, Jared has meshed choral singing with university life, bringing creativity and balance to a demanding academic path.
As past president of Canadian University Music Society, Associate Professor Laura Gray organized the annual MusCAN conference at Grebel in May 2025, with workshops, panels, keynotes, and concerts. Under her five-year leadership, the society underwent a major management restructure and overcame financial challenges.
This spring, Grebel turned into a space for listening, wandering, and discovering the sounds of the medieval past through a chant-inspired soundwalk. Conrad Grebel University College, in partnership with St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo, participated in the Digital Analysis of Chant Transmission Project (DACT) Soundwalk: “Singing Musical Fragments: Waterloo.” The soundwalk invited visitors to explore and listen to medieval chants originating from many different time periods and locations.
English and Music, Double Majors
Chloe Shantz is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a double major in Music and English Literature and is the recipient of the Music Departmental Award. “I grew up in a musical family, and English was always my favourite subject in school,” she said. After graduating high school during the pandemic, Chloe found herself drawn to the supportive and close-knit environment at Grebel.
Research areas: Liturgical music; chant; early medieval polyphony; liturgical theology
Research areas: Jean Sibelius; early twentieth-century British music criticism; The British Symphony
Congratulations to Chloe Shantz (Honours Music & English Literature - Intensive English Specialization, Creative Writing Specialization) on being this year’s recipient of the Departmental Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in Music for the graduating class of 2025.
Congratulations to the dozen music students who are finishing their UWaterloo degrees.