Keynotes

image

KAEL MCKENZIE

First transgender judge in Canada

Funding provided by the Silver Gummy Foundation

"My Experience, Strength, and Hope"


Friday, March 28th, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PT (UTC-7)


Online & In Person
UVic Conference Centre, Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House)
University of Victoria
lək̓ʷəŋən territory, Victoria, BC, Canada 


All conference registrations include access to the keynote. As space allows, the in-person event is open to the public by donation at the door.

ABSTRACT: "One of the benefits of getting older is perspective. Growing up, even into my early 20s I had no idea that sex and gender were not the same. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I had no language to express what I was feeling, I had no role models, no education, no internet, etc. Comparatively, today we have a plethora of resources and role models. We even have legislated human and equality rights across the country. Yet, possibly more than ever before, today we are often the targets of harmful rhetoric and attacks on these rights. In my opinion, this is a good sign and a sign of hope. Let me tell you why…"

Kael McKenzie was appointed to the Provincial Court of Manitoba in 2015. He is noted as the first transgender person ever appointed a Judge in Canada and the first transmasculine judge in the world. Prior to his appointment, he was a Manitoba lawyer who practiced primarily in family law and criminal law. He served in the Canadian Forces before attending law school. He is also a member of the Manitoba Métis Nation. Judge McKenzie is a regular speaker and educator across Canada and elsewhere on 2STLGBQIA+ issues. He is married to his partner Kristine and has two children who are the light of his life. His favorite pastime is fishing, especially ice fishing on Lake Winnipeg.  

image

LUCIA LUCAS & TOBIAS PICKER


"The Making of Lili Elbe:

An Opera About Trans People
Made with Trans People"



Saturday, March 29th, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PT (UTC-7)


Online & In Person
UVic Conference Centre, Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House)
University of Victoria
lək̓ʷəŋən territory, Victoria, BC, Canada 


All conference registrations include access to the keynote. As space allows, the in-person event is open to the public by donation at the door.


Don't miss
Lucia Lucas in in concert!

POST-CONFERENCE EVENT
Sunday, March 30th, 2025
NEW TIME: 4:00PM - 5:00PM
NEW LOCATION: Wood Hall
900 Johnson Street, Victoria, BC
Lək̓ʷəŋən territory

Donations gratefully accepted at the door
RSVPs appreciated, but not required


ABSTRACT: Composer Tobias Picker teamed up with librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman to create a biographical opera about Lili Elbe based on Elbe’s 1933 memoir, Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. They were joined in the project by trans woman baritone opera singer Lucia Lucas who closely advised the composer and librettist throughout the composition process and who sings the role of Lilli Elbe. In total, four transgender people were in the cast, crew and creative team, each of whom shared parts of their lives that were similar and different to Lili Elbe’s to help to tell the most authentic story and center people of trans experience in the making of the opera. Lili Elbe premiered October 2023 in St. Gallen, Switzerland and received "Best World Premiere" in the 2023 Oper! Awards.

Lucia Lucas is very proud to have performed for many of the most prestigious houses in the world including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, English National Opera, Teatro Regio Torino and Daegu Opera House in Korea. Her primary discipline is Opera, but Lucia is also a public speaker, advocate for art, and creates content through Music, Video, and Writing. In the medium of Opera, Lucia most often performs in Germany, the UK, and the US. She performs Verdi, Wagner, as well as many new music and world premieres. She enjoys playing all characters from femme to masc.

Tobias Picker, deemed “our finest composer for the lyric stage” by The Wall Street Journal, is a prolific composer in all genres. He has composed six operas, commissioned by Dallas Opera, LA Opera, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theatre St. Louis. Picker has composed numerous symphonic works including three symphonies, concertos for violin, viola, cello, and oboe, as well as four piano concertos and a ballet. Picker’s recent honors include the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Fantastic Mr. Fox), and a lifetime membership at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music is published by Schott.