Canadian Studies Announcements

In This Issue:

Canadian Studies News

• A welcome message from program director Hidetaka Hirota

News From Berkeley

• Canadian guest conductor to open Berkeley Symphony’s 2025-26 season

Academic Opportunities

• Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowships

• Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies

Upcoming Events

• Back-to-School Open House

External Events

• Silicon Valley Terry Fox Run

• Berkeley Symphony: Visions of Elysium

• Kim’s Convenience at ACT San Francisco

PROGRAM NEWS

A Message from Our Director

Dear friends,

As director of the Canadian Studies Program, it is my pleasure to welcome you warmly to the fall semester.

Canadian Studies is the home for all friends of Canada at UC Berkeley. We are a diverse and dynamic community, exploring all aspects of Canada and its role in a changing global landscape. We welcome students from every discipline and background, and offer opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students.

But we also aim to make Canadian Studies a space for connection, linking Canadians and friends of Canada both on-campus and across the wider Bay Area. I would like to issue a special welcome to those new students joining us from Canada. I invite you to join us at our special open house for students next week – see details below.

As usual, we are also planning a great slate of talks and panels for this semester. We’ll address some of the most pressing questions of the current Canada-US relationship, as well as share the diverse voices and experiences that have shaped modern Canada. More details will be forthcoming shortly, so keep watch for our emails!

We look forward to getting to know you better, and hope to see you at an event soon!

Sincerely,

Hidetaka Hirota Director, Canadian Studies Program

Thomas Garden Barnes Chair in Canadian Studies Associate Professor of History

NEWS FROM BERKELEY

Canadian Guest Conductor to Open Berkeley Symphony’s 2025-26 Season

A Canadian leader in the world of classical music will visit the Bay Area next month to open the Berkeley Symphony’s 2025-26 season. As reported in Berkeleyside, acclaimed conductor Dina Gilbert will conduct the season’s opening concert, Visions of Elysium, on September 14.

Gilbert will use her visit to highlight the work of the contemporary Canadian composer Samy Moussa. The concert is named after his piece “Elysium”, which will open the performance.

Gilbert, who is from Montreal, has received critical acclaim for her energy, presence on the podium, and the breadth of her repertoire. She is currently principal conductor of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and associate conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

In addition to premiering more than 40 works by Canadian composers, she has reached thousands of children with her interactive and participative Conducting 101 workshops across Canada.

Gilbert also has a Berkeley connection: she was a student of longtime Berkeley Symphony conductor Kent Nagano, who led the symphony for over three decades.

Composer Samy Moussa, whose music will open the concert, shares a connection with Berkeley and Gilbert through Nagano, who conducted Moussa’s first symphony, Concordia, at its premiere at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Moussa, who is also from Montreal, is an alumnus of the Université de Montréal and completed postgraduate music study at the Munich Conservatory.

ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Canadian Studies’ signature Hildebrand Fellowship provides support for Berkeley graduate students of any citizenship whose work focuses primarily, or comparatively, on Canada. The Fellowship provides up to $5,000 per semester to fund direct travel and research expenses.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Applications should be submitted at least one month before the start of any proposed travel.

The Rita Ross Prize recognizes an outstanding undergraduate research project related to Canada, produced for a UC Berkeley class or independent study project. The competition is open to any UC Berkeley undergraduate student in good academic standing, in any college or discipline.

One $300 cash prize is awarded to a student who has produced a superior undergraduate research paper or other original project that engages with topics, people or events related to Canada. The prize is awarded at the end of the spring semester.

UPCOMING EVENT

Back-to-School Open House

Tues., Sept. 2 | 12:00 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

The Canadian Studies Program invites you to kick off the fall semester with a back-to-school meet-and-greet for students! Get to know more about our program and meet other students with Canadian connections while enjoying a complimentary lunch on us.

This is your chance to:

• Connect with Canadian students and friends of Canada
• Discover research funding for Canada-related projects
• Learn about upcoming events, like our lunch talks, conferences, and Canadian Thanksgiving celebration!

Please RSVP here if you plan to attend. We look forward to seeing you next week!

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Silicon Valley Terry Fox Run

Sun., Sept. 14 | 9:30 am | Palo Alto, CA | Learn more

Honor the legacy of Terry Fox as you follow in his footsteps to raise money for cancer research! Join the Eh Team – Run for Terry, proudly sponsored by the Government of Canada, the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco, and the Digital Moose Lounge. Join with your fellow Bay Area Canadians running, walking, and biking to continue Terry’s efforts of finding a cure for cancer. Darrell Fox, Terry’s brother, will make an appearance as the guest of honor!

Sun., Sept. 14 | 4:00 pm | Berkeley, CA | Buy tickets

The Berkeley Symphony opens its 2025-26 season with a concert conducted by Montreal’s Dina Gilbert. She invites audiences on a quest for transcendence that spans from tranquility to triumphant heroism. The evening opens with an otherworldly vision of Elysium, the paradisiacal afterlife of Grecian heroes, by Canadian composer Samy Moussa. The concert will also include pieces by Tchaikovsky, and Alyssa Weinberg before concluding with Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”), a bold declaration of humanity’s aspiration toward an ideal world. Featuring Gabriel Cabezas on solo cello.

Kim’s Convenience at ACT San Francisco

Sept. 18-Oct. 19 | San Francisco, CA | Learn more

The hilarious and heartwarming, award-winning comedy drama that inspired the popular Netflix hit show is coming to SF! This feel-good play about a Korean family-run corner store is an ode to generations of immigrants who have made Canada the country that it is today. Mr. Kim works hard to support his wife and children with his Toronto convenience store. As he evaluates his future, he faces both a changing neighborhood landscape and the gap between his values and those of his Canada-born children. Playwright Ins Choi, who will also star in the production as the title character, calls Kim’s Convenience his “love letter to his parents and to all first-generation immigrants who call Canada their home.”

Kim’s Convenience opens at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) Toni Rembe Theater on September 18. Thanks to our friends at the DML, you can click here or use code DML to save 20% on tickets!

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

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