The long-time conductor and musical director of the Men of the Deeps has died.
John C. “Jack” O’Donnell of Antigonish passed away at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital Thursday; he was 83.
O’Donnell spent 50 years as the conductor and musical director of the well-known coal miners’ choir; he also worked for 40 years at StFX, where he was Professor Emeritus and the former chair of the university’s music department.
O’Donnell was invested into the Order of Canada for his work with the Men of the Deeps in 1983; he received an East Coast Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
There will be a small private family funeral in Newfoundland at a later date, a public musical celebration of his life is also being planned.