‘Devoted’ Montreal conductor found dead
Showed tenacity in face of multiple sclerosis
Eleanor Stubley was 5-foot-3, weighed 90 pounds and suffered from multiple sclerosis.
She used a wheelchair to get around. When not in her chair, she walked with the help of forearm crutches, grasping them with the fluidly expressive hands that were central to her work as an internationally renowned conductor and much-loved professor at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music.
“She lived with multiple sclerosis, and much of her work explored the physicality of music,” McGill principal Suzanne Fortier said in a statement Monday — a day after the 57-year-old professor’s body was discovered in her customized 2004 blue Dodge Caravan.
The vehicle was parked near the canal where Stubley liked to walk in Montreal’s St-Henri district. She was reported missing after last being seen in the area on Aug. 7. Now she is gone, and an arts and academic community is left mourning her loss while Montreal police will only say her death is not connected to a criminal act.
Stubley’s brother, Paul, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Brenda Ravenscroft is dean of the music school. She marvelled at Stubley’s artistic gifts.
“It’s a big loss for us,” Ravenscroft said. “She was such a big contributor to her work ... utterly devoted to students and such an excellent conductor and any physical challenges were just in the background.”
Born in Brampton, Ont., Stubley had to overcome formidable obstacles, both as a woman and a person with a disability, rising to prominence in what was — and continues to be — the male-dominated field of conducting.
“My life since I picked up the horn (has been) a single track,” she told writer Dorota Kozinska in 1996. “Everything that I’ve done has been, in some shape or form, associated with music.”
Stubley was a guest conductor in New York, London and Helsinki. She won an alphabet stew of awards, and once received a $5,000 grant from the Finnish Arts Council — and $4,000 from Heritage Canada. She served on multiple university committees and mentored countless students in her role as associate dean in the Graduate Studies department.
One of her more recent pieces involved collaborating with local sculptor Joel Prévost on a short film marrying the act of sculpting to the artistry of conducting. The viewer sees Stubley’s hands in the opening scene: static, and rendered in clay. The conductor appears in the background of the shot. She is dressed in red. Her hands start moving, leading some unseen choir through some choral piece. Prévost’s hands appear then, further shaping the clay.
“Professor Stubley was critically acclaimed as both a scholar and an artist,” Fortier said.
Stubley was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the arts.