Howard Leyton-Brown was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1918. He began violin lessons at the age of seven and at twelve, obtained a three year university scholarship, eventually graduating with a Diploma of Music form Melbourne University. In 1937, Leyton-Brown moved to England with his mother and sister, where he continued to study the violin. He also went on to study in Germany and Belgium.
With the advent of the Second World War, Leyton-Brown joined the Royal Air Force, spending time in Estevan, Saskatchewan as an instructor as well as flying with the bombing command, which led to his receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1948, Leyton-Brown joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as deputy concertmaster, eventually becoming concertmaster.
Doubts about the future of the London Philharmonic brought Leyton-Brown back to Estevan where he began to search for employment in Canada's music world. In 1952 he became head of the string department at the Conservatory of Music in Regina. In 1955, he became Director of the Conservatory, a position which he occupied until his retirement in June of 1986. His activities within the Department of Music at the University of Regina led to a Full Professorship in 1966.
Leyton-Brown has been an integral part of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, conducting the Symphony from 1960 to 1971 and becoming concertmaster in the mid-seventies. In 1971, Leyton-Brown completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts and Musical Performance at Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the same time Leyton-Brown had been appointed to the Canada Council for a four year term (1971 to 1974) and was also actively involved with the Saskatchewan Arts Board as a member from 1966 to 1972, and as Director in 1967
Leyton-Brown also taught at the American Congress of Strings in Cincinnati in 1984 and Dallas in 1985 and in 1986 he conducted the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra during its tour of China and Japan. During his career, Howard Leyton-Brown has been broadcast as a soloist with orchestra and in recital on CBC radio as well as in Australia, England, Iceland and Switzerland. He has appeared on numerous television programs, including two years of weekly chamber-music programs for CKCK TV in Regina.
Leyton-Brown was invested into the Order of Canada on April 29, 1987 and retired professor emeritus from the University of Regina in 1988, he received the Lifetime Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1991, the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 1996, and in 2002 was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
Howard Leyton-Brown passed away in 2017.
Ann Leger-Anderson was born in Reading Pennsylvania, on August 15, 1936. She received her post secondary education from Ursinus College and Clark University, and earned a Ph.D. in History from the University of Iowa with specialization in American History. Leger-Anderson briefly taught at Idaho State University prior to moving to Canada in 1966 to teach at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus.
Although, Leger-Anderson was trained in American history, her focus and research was on Canadian prairie women’s history. As one of the first historians to work in this field, Leger-Anderson made a strong impact in this area with her role as a professor teaching undergraduate students, supervising undergraduate and graduate students, creating research networks; and publishing.
Leger-Anderson eventually became a Canadian citizen; however she continued to teach American History and remained tied to that interest. When she retired from the University of Regina in 2004 she was granted the title of Professor Emerita, and continued to involve herself with many organizations as, for example, a member of the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan and a Chairperson and Research Fellow for the Canadian Plains Research Centre. She also maintained an association with the Organization of American Historians.
Leger-Anderson was one of founding members of the Women in Alberta and Saskatchewan History and the chair and for the Canadian Committee on Women’s History. She also acted as an editor for their newsletter. To enhance public awareness she led walking tours on women’s history. As a Research Fellow she assisted other researchers by conducting surveys of archival resources.
Leger-Anderson continued to live and work in Regina, Saskatchewan until her death on February 22, 2006.
Patrick Lane was born at Nelson, British Columbia on March 26, 1939 and attended high school in Vernon, British Columbia. He has written more than 20 books and is considered to be one of the foremost Canadian writers of his generation. He has held Writer-in-Residence positions across Canada and has published around the world.
Lane is associated with numerous professional writing associations and committees. He has received grants from the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, Manitoba Arts Council, Saskatchewan Arts Board and the British Columbia Arts Council. His poetry, fiction, and non-fiction have been translated widely and he has received many awards and prizes for them. Lane has been a critic and commentator appearing regularly on CBC and other numerous media.
André Normand Lalonde was born in Sudbury, Ontario in September 1942. He received a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) from Laurentian University in 1962 and was granted a Master of Arts degree in 1962 and a Ph.D in 1970 from Laval University.
Lalonde began his teaching career in 1964 as a Lecturer in History and English at the College Marie-Mediatrice in Hull, Quebec and began teaching at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus in 1965 as an Instructor of History until 1967 when he became an Assistant Professor of History advancing to Associate Professor in 1971 and a full Professor in 1980. Lalonde taught until 2005 when he became Professor Emeritus.
From 1983 to 1991 Lalonde was Director of the University of Regina’s Bilingual Study Centre (Centre d’études bilingues) and Interim Director of the Language Institute (Institut de formation linguistique) from 1988 to 1992 when he became Director of the Institute. Lalonde was also Acting Director of the Summer School of International Languages (SCIL) at the University of Regina for 1994/95.
Lalonde has written numerous books and articles related to the history of Saskatchewan, and of the history of Francophone people in Saskatchewan, he was a member of the Canadian Historical Association, President of La Société historique de la Saskatchewan from 1974 to 1985 and a member of its Executive from 1985 to 1996. In 1990 he was appointed Saskatchewan Representative of the Historical Sites and Monuments Board of Canada for a 3-year term and was Chairman of the Saskatchewan Heritage Property Management Board in 1995.
Martin Louis Kovacs was born in Budapest in 1918, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938; a Master of Arts degree in 1940; and a Ph.D. in 1942 in Budapest. From 1942 to 1948 Kovacs worked at the National Archives / Museum in Budapest. And from 1949 to 1968 he worked in Australia as a teacher and obtained a Master of Arts degree in 1955; a Bachelor of Education degree in 1956; and a Master of Education degree in 1966 from the University of Melbourne in Australia.
In 1968 he immigrated to Canada and began teaching history at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus, he became an Associate Professor in 1969, a full Professor in 1976, and served as Chairman of the Research Section at the Canadian Plains Research Centre from 1975 to 1983.
Kovacs also served on the Senior Academic Committee, the Archives Committee, and Curriculum Committee. He was a member of the Ethnic Research Section at the Canadian Plains Research Center, his public service included roles as President for the Kipling District Historical Society and as President of the Kipling District Museum Society. He was Vice-President and Conference Co-ordinator for the Canadian Association of Hungarian Studies; Vice-President and Conference Co-ordinator of the Central and East European Studies Association of Canada and he was Associate Editor of Nationalities Papers, a semi-annual journal of the association for the Study of Nationalities (USSR and East Europe).
Kovacs spoke, wrote and read several languages: English, Hungarian, German, Italian, Latin, French and Spanish. He worked and organized conferences for the Canadian Association of Hungarian Studies and the Central and East European Studies Association of Canada (Edmonton) and between 1974 and 1983 Kovacs wrote books and authored numerous papers for scholarly journals focusing on Hungarian settlement in Saskatchewan. Kovacs retired from teaching at the University of Regina in 1986.
Kovacs wrote and edited many books on early Hungarian settlement in the Canadian West including Peace and Strife: Some Facets of the History of an Early Prairie Community (Kipling, Saskatchewan: Kipling District Historical Society, 1980). Ethnic Canadians: Culture and Education. (Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina, 1978) Roots and Realities Among Eastern and Central Europeans, (Central and East European Studies Association of Canada, Edmonton. 1983) Esterhazy and Early Hungarian Immigration to Canada; a study based upon the Esterhazy immigration pamphlet, (Canadian Plains Studies Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 1974)
He also published articles relating to the subject. "The Hungarian School Question," in Ethnic Canadians: Culture and Education, ed. M.L. Kovacs (Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 1978), pp. 333-58. "Searching for Land: The First Hungarian Influx into Canada" Canadian-American Review of Hungarian Studies, VII, 1 (Spring, 1980), 37-43; "From Industries to Farming" Hungarian Studies Review, VIII, 1 (Spring, 1981), 45-60; as well as chapter three of Struggle and Hope.
Martin Kovacs died in Regina, Saskatchewan in 2000.
Myrna Ann Kostash is a journalist, essayist and writer of regional and national acclaim. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1944. She attended the University of Alberta, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1965 with a major in Russian. She then pursued graduate studies in Slavic language and literature at the University of Washington and the University of Toronto where she received a Master of Arts in 1968.
Kostash is the author of several books, All of Baba’s Children, Long Way From Home: The Story of the Sixties Generation in Canada, No Kidding: Inside the Life of Teenage Girls, Bloodlines: A Journey into Eastern Europe, The Doomed Bridegroom: A Memoir, The Next Canada: In Search of the Future Nation, Reading the River: A Traveller’s Companion to the North Saskatchewan River, Locating the Past/Discovering the Present, The Frog Lake Reader, Slice Me Some Truth, Prodigal Daughter, Unbound: Ukrainian-Canadians Writing Home and more recently, The Seven Oaks, a companion volume to The Frog Lake Reader.
Her articles and creative non-fiction have appeared in several anthologies, and extensively in periodicals such as Chatelaine, Maclean's, Geist, Border Crossings, Literary Review of Canada and Canadian Geographic. She has contributed radio, television, and film scripts to the CBC and the National Film Board, and has written stage plays. She has lectured widely in Canada and Europe and has taught courses, workshops, and seminars across the country. Kostash was Max Bell Professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina for 1989 and 1990.
Kostash has recived numberous awards for her writing: in 1989 she received the Alberta Achievement Award, in 2008 the Writers Guild of Alberta presented her with the Golden Pen Award for lifetime achievement. She was inducted into the City of Edmonton’s Cultural Hall of Fame in 2009 and in 2010 she was awarded the Writers' Trust Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life. Kostash accepted the Wilfred Eggleston Award for Nonfiction at the Writers Guild of Alberta awards gala in 2011, where Prodigal Daughter, won for Best Nonfiction Book. In 2012 Kostash was shortlisted for the Kobzar Literary prize.
Myrna Kostash resides in Edmonton.