The UBC School of Music is saddened to learn of the passing of UBC Aluma Dr. Elizabeth Lamberton (MA’78, PhD’88) on March 1st, 2016.
Dr. Richard Kurth, Director of the UBC School of Music shared the following:
I am writing to share the sad news that Dr. Elizabeth Lamberton passed away peacefully on Tuesday March 1, after a long bout with cancer, which she endured with admirable composure. Elizabeth completed her MA (1978) and PHD (1988) at UBC, and taught musicology as a faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic University from 1993 to 2012. Those who knew her also knew of her great enthusiasm for the UBC School of Music, and that she viewed her time as a graduate student here as a particularly exciting and joyful period in her life. Her love of music, knowledge, and scholarship were immediately evident to anyone who met her, and she was an inspiring teacher and mentor to her many students over the years. She was a person of gracious intelligence and true kindness, and I am grateful that she was a part of our community, as a student and as a faithful and enthusiastic alumna. We will remember her with joyful appreciation of her talents and character.
Elizabeth requested that there be no memorial service, but her friend and fellow musicologist John Glofcheskie has suggested that we contemplate her love of life and music by listening to “piano music by Debussy, the composer who (in addition to the Impressionist artist, Monet) was closest to her being.” Her quiet confidence and charm indeed had something essential in common with the ponds and waterlilies of Giverny, and also with the mixture of liveliness and reflection heard in Debussy’s piano music. John’s suggestion is a beautiful association for us all to make with Elizabeth when we contemplate the music and art of French Impressionism.
We welcome messages of remembrance for anyone who wishes to share reflections, memories or tributes on this web page. Please send an e-mail to Laurie Townsend.
