Teacher, scholar, musician, mother, sister, friend, Christine passed away peacefully in the early morning of a warm summer day at the Royal Victoria Hospital, following a brief illness. Survived by her brother Tom (Maureen) of NFLD; daughters Alison and Rex of Montreal; cousins Lynne Slotek and Carole Mandel of Toronto; niece Naomi Louder, and nephews Russell and Leon Louder, who did so much for Christine and who were almost as her own children. Christine had a loving extended family, a community of beloved friends, dear neighbours, and hundreds of colleagues and students whose lives she touched during her lifetime.

Dr. Christine Beckett studied music education, composition, and performance (piano/viola) at the University of Toronto. She then did a viola performance diploma and completed graduate studies in research on ear training pedagogy at McGill in 1993, becoming the first person to graduate from McGill University with a Ph.D. in Music. As a pianist and string player she performed in various genres and contexts across North America and Europe, notably with Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, and Montreal Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Beckett also taught at McGill, l’Université de Sherbrooke, CEGEPs, and Suzuki institutes, before joining the Faculty of Fine Arts Department of Music at Concordia University. She organized many university events: conferences, special concerts, open houses, and many more. Her research in the field of music perception and cognition greatly contributed to a deeper cultural understanding of absolute pitch, music reading/dyslexia, issues in ear training, music and emotion, and more. She was a proud full faculty member of the BRAMS lab. Through it all, she taught private music lessons to many children – her own included – in her home studio full of happy plants.

Christine’s love of music began at an early age and went far beyond teaching. Indeed, access to music as an inalienable human right was among her deepest values. She delighted in encouraging her students’ artistic and academic growth, providing individual supervision for independent studies and special projects. Her classroom was a lively, exuberant place. As a constant learner herself, Christine’s insatiable curiosity about the people in her life and the world informed her passion for sharing – always in vivid detail – be it about a book, her latest ideas and discoveries, or her dreams. She volunteered to bring the joy of music to seniors by performing in long-term care across Montreal and Toronto, and her Christmas concerts in Port Hope ON, with her daughter Alison on vocals, became tradition. Thoughtful, gentle and respectful with everyone, Christine was an enthusiastic and empathic listener with an innate ability to hold a conversation with anybody. Her brilliant sense of humour never faltered. She took pleasure in sunrises and sunsets at Charleston Lake Provincial Park in Ontario and her happy place – her garden. She loved cats, dancing, and travelling, especially going on adventures with daughter Rex in Iceland.

An irreplaceable person with a formidable spirit, Christine will be profoundly missed by all for the rest of our days. The family is grateful to the Cedars Cancer Centre at the MUHC Royal Victoria Hospital for their incredible care and tireless dedication to Christine’s wellbeing and dignity.