"From her office on College Drive, musicologist Dr. Joan Halmo, adjunct professor of Music, daily traverses the boundaries that separate the Middle Ages from our own."

Bio/historical note: Image appeared in 24 April 1998 issue of OCN.

Bio/Historical Note: Growing up in Kuroki, Saskatchewan, Dr. Joan Halmo developed her love of music as a young child through piano lessons with a fine local teacher and through participation in music at church and in the community. As a boarding school student and then teacher at the Ursuline Academy in Bruno, Dr. Halmo attained Associate and Licentiate Diplomas in Piano Performance from the Western Board of Music and Trinity College of Music of London (England), respectively. After further studies in Ottawa, during which time she became acquainted with Ignatian spirituality, Dr. Halmo completed a BA in Music History at the University of Regina through Campion College in 1977, receiving both the University Medal and President’s Medal. Dr. Halmo went on to receive an MA in Liturgical Studies (1982, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN) and an MA in Liturgical Music and PhD in Musicology (1993, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC). Dr. Halmo has continued her lifelong passion for music and teaching as an instructor at the University of Saskatchewan. She has taught courses at the Summer Institute of Pastoral Music, University of Saint Paul in Ottawa, and at Newman Theological College in Edmonton. She is the author of several books and numerous articles on aspects of music history and liturgical music. While teaching at the U of S, Dr. Halmo received grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to study music manuscripts and the Lyell Gustin legacy. An active member in the community, Dr. Halmo was instrumental in reclaiming and restoring Gustin House, now a provincial heritage property, located in Saskatoon. Thanks in part to her hard work and dedication, the former home of Lyell Gustin (1895-1988), a distinguished piano teacher who influenced musical life in the province and nation, is once again a centre for performance and the arts. Dr. Halmo is currently the executive and artistic director of Gustin House (2021).