Honorary degree recipients
November 10, 2026 | 10:00 a.m.
George and Christiane Smyth, Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Christiane and George Smyth are philanthropists and passionate collectors of Coast Salish art. Together, they have spent decades raising awareness of local Salish art and educating the public through their Salish Weave Collection. Following George’s passing in 2024, Christiane continues the work they began together.
After retiring and relocating to Victoria in 2000, the couple developed an interest in contemporary Coast Salish art, collecting original works and commissioning prints. Over 25 years, artwork from the collection has been gifted to educational and cultural institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada. Artwork has been loaned for exhibitions to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, including a touring exhibition in British Columbia and some international exhibitions.
The Smyths have been steadfast supporters of initiatives at the University of Victoria since 2010. Their philanthropic contributions included the Visiting Artist Program in Anthropology, Summer Institutes in Indigenous Education and Salish Weave School Program, which distributed box sets of prints to school districts on traditional Coast Salish territories. They also endowed the Smyth Chair in Arts and Engagement at UVic and the Salish Weave Chair in Indigenous Arts Practices and Pedagogies at Simon Fraser University.
The Smyths’ legacy honours the important contributions of Coast Salish artists. Their work inspires others to view art as a form of education, inspiration and connection.
After retiring and relocating to Victoria in 2000, the couple developed an interest in contemporary Coast Salish art, collecting original works and commissioning prints. Over 25 years, artwork from the collection has been gifted to educational and cultural institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada. Artwork has been loaned for exhibitions to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, including a touring exhibition in British Columbia and some international exhibitions.
The Smyths have been steadfast supporters of initiatives at the University of Victoria since 2010. Their philanthropic contributions included the Visiting Artist Program in Anthropology, Summer Institutes in Indigenous Education and Salish Weave School Program, which distributed box sets of prints to school districts on traditional Coast Salish territories. They also endowed the Smyth Chair in Arts and Engagement at UVic and the Salish Weave Chair in Indigenous Arts Practices and Pedagogies at Simon Fraser University.
The Smyths’ legacy honours the important contributions of Coast Salish artists. Their work inspires others to view art as a form of education, inspiration and connection.
November 10, 2026 | 2:30 p.m.
Daniel Lapp, Honorary Doctor of Music (DMus)
Daniel Lapp is an internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, archivist and teacher. A fiddler, jazz trumpeter and singer/songwriter, he has recorded on more than 100 albums and performed worldwide with leading folk, rock and jazz musicians. He is also a fiddle music historian and archivist, collecting and preserving more than 3,000 tunes by over 300 British Columbia composers.
Born in Prince George, British Columbia, Lapp grew up surrounded by music, playing with his mother, siblings, aunts, uncles and his farming/fiddling grandfather. He studied jazz at Humber College and earned a music degree from the University of Victoria, specializing in trumpet, composition and world music.
In 1994, Lapp founded the youth BC Fiddle Orchestra, playing for 60,000 people at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria which is now in it’s 33rd season. He also performed at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics opening ceremony. A BC Fiddle Championship winner, he has appeared as a soloist with the CBC Chamber Orchestra as well as the Prince George, Victoria and Vancouver Symphonies.
Lapp received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Service Award in 2012, the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and the One World One Family Humanitarian Award in 2025. Since 2013 he has been the Artistic Director of the Chwyl School of Contemporary Music at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Through his choirs, orchestras, archives, annual performances and teaching, he has enriched BC’s musical culture and inspired generations of musicians.
Born in Prince George, British Columbia, Lapp grew up surrounded by music, playing with his mother, siblings, aunts, uncles and his farming/fiddling grandfather. He studied jazz at Humber College and earned a music degree from the University of Victoria, specializing in trumpet, composition and world music.
In 1994, Lapp founded the youth BC Fiddle Orchestra, playing for 60,000 people at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria which is now in it’s 33rd season. He also performed at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics opening ceremony. A BC Fiddle Championship winner, he has appeared as a soloist with the CBC Chamber Orchestra as well as the Prince George, Victoria and Vancouver Symphonies.
Lapp received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Service Award in 2012, the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and the One World One Family Humanitarian Award in 2025. Since 2013 he has been the Artistic Director of the Chwyl School of Contemporary Music at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Through his choirs, orchestras, archives, annual performances and teaching, he has enriched BC’s musical culture and inspired generations of musicians.