Pursuing two passions: law alum establishes new scholarship in voice

Music has always been a central part of Stuart MacKinnon’s life. As a child, he remembers doing the dishes with his family while singing Gilbert and Sullivan operas and performing as a treble and later a baritone soloist in Halifax’s First Baptist Church. He fondly recalls forming a quartet while pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree at Dalhousie, and the excitement of winning the Munro Day talent show each year. 

Music is what brought MacKinnon and his wife, Evelyn, together after they initially met at a choral concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall. Music also led him to the mainstage of the National Arts Centre, where he performed as a baritone chorister in dozens of operas.

After completing his Bachelor of Science at Dalhousie, MacKinnon studied voice in Toronto with Dr. Ernesto Vinci at the Royal Conservatory of Music. In 1957, he returned to Dalhousie to undertake his legal studies. In 1963, after completing his postgraduate studies at the University of London, MacKinnon began teaching at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. 

MacKinnon joined the federal government in 1970 and immediately began work on the constitutional reform that was already underway at the time. After a stint in the Privy Council Office, he moved to the Department of Justice as their first Director, Policy and Planning. Among his notable achievements was co-authoring the memorandum to Cabinet on the abolishment of the death penalty in Canada. He then returned to the Privy Council Office to complete the constitutional revision process and served as secretary of the federal delegation for the conferences leading to patriation and a Canadian Charter of Rights. 

A balancing act

Throughout his busy career, MacKinnon always made time to perform. 

“I guess I was a bit of a chameleon, and I was able to adjust very, very quickly” he says. “I had to run from a constitution meeting or conference and then zip onto the stage of the National Arts Centre for rehearsal or performance.” 

This balancing act between government and music was not always so seamless. MacKinnon recounts a time when he was running late for a rehearsal and needed to do a quick wardrobe change in the back of his car. Unfortunately for him, the concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra happened to be walking by at an ill-opportune moment.

“He never mentioned it, but that was sort of crazy thing I was doing all the time — trying to fit these two pieces together” MacKinnon says with a laugh. “But I wouldn't have changed it for the world.”

After retiring from his final governmental position as secretary, Canadian Intergovernmental Conferences in 2004, MacKinnon continued to perform with opera companies and in his local church in Ottawa. Most notably, he sang over 700 solo performances at Ottawa seniors' residences and created programs featuring a wide variety of classical and popular repertoire. 

When asked to identify a piece of music that he particularly enjoyed performing, Mackinnon says without hesitation that, “[it] was whatever I was singing at the moment.”

Expanding a life-long connection

While pursuing a demanding career and robust performance schedule, MacKinnon maintained a strong connection to Dalhousie and the friends he made during his two degrees. He would often return to Halifax to sing recitals and lecture in the Law School. Additionally, he was the president of the Ottawa chapter of the Dalhousie Alumni Association. 

He also chose to give back generously. In 2020, MacKinnon achieved gold-level status within Dalhousie’s MacLennan Society in recognition of 50 years of cumulative giving. When asked why he chose to support his alma mater over the years, he highlighted his enduring connection. 

“Dal is just a part of my history,” he says. “I have very fond and rich memories of my time there. I was fortunate in the friendships I made that have lasted a lifetime.”  

In April 2024, MacKinnon established the Stuart MacKinnon Scholarship in Voice through Dalhousie’s Fountain School of Performing Arts. This renewable scholarship will be awarded to a full-time student in the Bachelor of Music program, specializing in voice with a preference given to students from Atlantic Canada. 

MacKinnon says the decision to support a music student was an easy one.

“The scholarship could have been in law, but my heart was really in supporting music students.”