With his cousin Lord Mount Stephen, Lord Strathcona created in 1885 the Montreal Scholarship of the RCM. This award, granted first to Ella Walker ca 1886-91, then to a Miss Russell ca 1891-4, became in 1895 the Strathcona Scholarship with Lord Strathcona as sole donor. It allowed the winners free tuition at the RCM for three years (with a possible two-year extension) as well as an annual living allowance of 50 guineas. Béatrice La Palme (1895), the singer Ada Moylan (1898), Lynnwood Farnam (1900), Pauline Donalda (1902), Arthur Egerton (1911), Sarah Fischer (1917), Rose Goldblatt (1930), and Alexander Brott (1939) were among the recipients, as were also Christina Barrie-Dickson and Jules Lamontagne.
Lord Strathcona was honorary president and a member of numerous music societies and was associated with McGill University as governor, chancellor, and special benefactor over a considerable period of time. Between 1896 and 1913 he continued to help young Canadian artists, including Éviola Gauthier and Kathleen Parlow, while holding the post of Canadian High Commissioner in London. The Strathcona Music Building of McGill University was named in his honour in 1971.
Author Nadia Turbide
Gould, Joseph. 'Music,' Arcadia, vol 1, 15 Dec 1892
McGill University Archives. RG 39
Musical Red Book
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Historica-Dominion Institute
The website for the Historica-Dominion Institute, parent organization of The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Check out their extensive online feature about the War of 1812, the "Heritage Minutes" video collection, and many other interactive resources concerning Canadian history, culture, and heritage.


Besides hockey and the maple leaf, there is little as symbolically Canadian as the CBC – the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It grew out of a developing nation's need to express its identity and find its voice.
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