Browse "Arts & Culture"

Alan Walker. Administrator, writer, teacher, radio producer, b Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, 6 Apr 1930; LGSM 1949, ARCM 1950, B MUS (Durham) 1956, D MUS (Durham) 1965. He studied piano with Alfred Nieman at the GSM, London.

Alanis Nadine Morissette, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, activist (born 1 June 1974 in Ottawa, ON). Alanis Morissette is one of Canada’s most recognized and internationally acclaimed singer-songwriters. She established herself as a Juno-winning teen pop star in Canada before adopting an edgy alternative rock sound. She exploded onto the world stage with her record-breaking international debut, Jagged Little Pill (1995). It sold more than 16 million copies in the United States and 33 million worldwide. It is the highest-selling debut album by a female artist in the US and the best-selling debut album ever worldwide. It is also the best-selling album of the 1990s and the first album by a Canadian artist to sell more than two million copies in Canada. Described by Rolling Stone magazine as the “undisputed queen of alt-rock angst,” Morissette has won 13 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards. She has sold 60 million albums worldwide, including Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998), Under Rug Swept (2002) and Flavors of Entanglement (2008). Also an actor and activist, she is a member of the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 8, 1999. Partner content is not updated. Well, if you're Alanis Morissette, that's exactly what you do. The Canadian pop star had been organizing a visit to Mother Teresa's hospital in India, but she still wonders what prompted her to dial Calcutta on the night of Sept. 4, 1997.

TEN YEARS AGO, Alanis MORISSETTE arrived on the music scene (for the second time) with serious rocker hair, a banshee voice and bitter lyrics about oral sex. This year, that anniversary can be celebrated by anyone waiting in line to buy a Starbucks biscotti and cappuccino.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on April 25, 2005

Alanis Obomsawin, CC, GOQ, filmmaker, singer, artist, storyteller (born 31 August 1932 near Lebanon, New Hampshire). Alanis Obomsawin is one of Canada’s most distinguished documentary filmmakers. She began her career as a professional singer and storyteller before joining the National Film Board (NFB) in 1967. Her award-winning films address the struggles of Indigenous peoples in Canada from their perspective, giving prominence to voices that have long been marginalized. She is Companion of the Order of Canada and the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec, a Grand Officer of the Ordre national du Québec and a Commander of the Order of Montreal. She has received the Prix Albert-Tessier and the Canadian Screen Awards’ Humanitarian Award, as well as multiple Governor General’s Awards, lifetime achievement awards, and honorary degrees, among many other honours.

Alannah Myles (born Byles), singer, songwriter (born 25 December 1958 in Toronto, Ontario). Alannah Myles cut an aggressive and confident, leather-clad figure in Canadian pop.

Alasdair (Duart) MacLean. Composer, b Liverpool, NS, 8 Jan 1955; B MUS (Mount Allison) 1982, B MUS (Juilliard) 1985, M MUS (Juilliard) 1986, Diplome d'Honneur de composition (L'Ecole d'Art americaine, Fontainebleau, France) 1986, D MUS (Toronto) 1996.

Alasua Amittuq Davidialuk, Inuk artist (b on a small island near Povungnituk, Qué c 1910; d on an emergency evacuation flight near Povungnituk 1 Aug 1976). An indifferent hunter, he lived in poverty until he gained recognition as a folk artist near mid-life.

Albert Chamberland. Violinist, conductor, producer, teacher, composer, b Montreal 12 Oct 1886, d there 4 Apr 1975. He studied violin with Jean Duquette and later at the McGill Conservatory with Alfred De Sève, and made his debut as a soloist in 1904.

Albert Clerk-Jeannotte. Tenor, teacher, administrator, b St-Hilaire (now Mont-St-Hilaire), near Montreal, 15 Jan 1881, d New York 21 Jul 1945. He began music study with his uncle, Alexandre-M. Clerk, and with Achille Fortier.

Albert (Joseph) Cornellier. Baritone, teacher, born St-Rémi-de-Napierville, near Montreal, 28 Mar 1900, died 2000; premier prix, light opera, (Paris Cons).

Albert David Jordan. Organist, conductor, administrator, b Seaforth, near Stratford, Ont, 28 Jul 1877, d Magnetawan, northeast of Parry Sound, Ont, 7 Sep 1932. He was the brother of Henri Kew Jordan and a pupil of F.H. Torrington at the Toronto College of Music.

Albert Dumouchel, printmaker, teacher (b at Bellerive, Qué 15 Apr 1916; d at Montréal 11 Jan 1971). He studied etching and lithography in Paris. In Montréal in 1945, he participated in the "cadavres

Albert Frank Moritz, poet, professor (b 15 Apr 1947 at Niles, Ohio, US). A.F. Moritz attended Marquette University (Wisconsin), where he earned a BA in journalism and a MA and PhD in English literature. Since 1974 he has lived in Toronto, where he is a professor at the University of Toronto.

Albert (Cornelius "Con") Furey. Conductor, composer, arranger, trumpeter, b Dublin 7 Feb 1930, d Victoria 14 Nov 2007. Albert Furey studied in Dublin and, after service with the Irish army, joined the Radio Eireann Light Orchestra as trumpet player and staff arranger.