Diane Loomer

Born in St. Paul Minnesota in 1940 and raised in a musical family, Diane Loomer received her BA from Gustavus Adolphus College.  After teaching high school math and English in the USA and Germany, she relocated to Vancouver in the mid-1970’s. She began her studies in music theory, piano and voice at Douglas College, transferring to UBC where she earned a degree in music theory in 1982. Diane soon soared to the top of her profession, founded and directed four outstanding choirs in a wide variety of voicings, fostering a love of singing in all age groups.  She has received numerous awards during her career including the BC Choral Federation’s Healey Willan Award in 1990, in 1994 the YWCA Vancouver’s Woman of Distinction for Arts and Culture; and in 1997 and 2004 received Distinguished Alumni Awards.   Mentorship of young choral musicians was important to Diane and she established programs to nurture their development. She gave great energy to promoting Canadian choral composers and left a prolific commissioning legacy. In 1999 Diane became a member of the Order of Canada and in 2002 was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.