O’Donnell to receive honorary degree
We were delighted to learn that Jack O’Donnell (The Men of the Deeps: A Journey with North America’s Only Coal Miners Chorus, CBU Press 2016) will receive an honorary degree from St. Francis Xavier University (St. FX) during their fall convocation Sunday (Dec. 4, 2016). O’Donnell is emeritus professor and former chair of the St. FX music department.
As conductor and musical director for more than forty of the now fifty-year history of The Men of the Deeps, Prof. O’Donnell travelled almost weekly between Antigonish and Glace Bay to rehearse with The Men. He broke new and important ground, becoming a world class authority on coal mining songs. He evolved into a choral champion of songs with Maritime and particularly Cape Breton subject matter. He published widely on mining songs in Canada.
Prof. O’Donnell has also made many contributions as a humanitarian. He and his wife Judy have long been closely involved with L’Arche Antigonish, working to build and support a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities. Prof. O’Donnell is a Member of the Order of Canada, and has received an honorary degree from Cape Breton University, the Katharine McLennan Award in recognition of his major contributions to the heritage of Cape Breton’s coal mining communities, and the Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Coast Music Association.
Congratulations Jack!
Jack’s latest book The Men of the Deeps: A Journey with North America’s Only Coal Miners Chorus is now in stores and will be officially launched on December 14 in conjunction with an exhibit on the chorus at the Cape Breton Centre for Heritage and Science.