Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON (May 7, 2012) – Ninth Glenn Gould Prize Laureate Leonard Cohen has chosen Sistema Toronto to receive The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize of $15,000 (CDN). Mr. Cohen will present the award to young ambassadors from Sistema Toronto at The Glenn Gould Prize Gala Concert on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. at Massey Hall.
“There is no telling how powerful this impact will be in future years,” said David Visentin, the Executive and Artistic Director of Sistema Toronto. “By awarding the children of Sistema Toronto the collective honour of being named The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégés, Leonard Cohen is giving much more than a prize. He is instilling hope, awakening dreams, and he is challenging talent to reveal itself in the years to come.”
Sistema Toronto was inspired by the 2009 Celebration of Music Week presented by The Glenn Gould Foundation that featured the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and musicians of El Sistema in honour of Eighth Prize Laureate and El Sistema founder, Dr. José Antonio Abreu. Sistema Toronto was launched in 2011 and is a collaboration with the Toronto District School Board. The program offers free, intensive music education to children in the culturally diverse neighbourhood of Parkdale and plans to expand throughout the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. The students work with professional artists and teachers for two hours at the end of every school day, and after three years each child will have received the equivalent of over ten years’ musical experience.
Tickets to The Glenn Gould Prize Gala Concert in Honour of Leonard Cohen can be purchased by calling 416-872-4255 or online at masseyhall.com or roythomson.com. This star-studded evening hosted by Colm Feore includes musical performances by folk singer Basia Bulat, Adam Cohen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Cowboy Junkies, James McMurtry, Gordon Pinsent with Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor and Travis Good from The Sadies, award-winning country singer/songwriter John Prine, Serena Ryder and Anjani Thomas with spoken presentations by Melissa Auf der Maur, Michael Ondaatje, and Alan Rickman and former Governor General and long-time friend, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson. Proceeds from the gala concert support the ongoing work of The Glenn Gould Foundation. For more information on the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize and celebrations visit www.glenngould.ca .
About Leonard Cohen
A master songwriter, musician, poet, novelist and visual artist, Leonard Cohen’s stunning body of original work has touched the lives of millions with a career spanning six decades. His dual careers in music and literature have continued fueling each other over the decades – his songs revealing a literary richness rare in the world of popular music, and his poetry and prose informed by an intense musicality. Cohen’s Book of Longing (2006), a collection of prose, poetry and drawings, was the first book of poetry to reach the top of Canada’s bestsellers’ lists, and formed the basis of a memorable musical and theatre collaboration with composer Philip Glass.
Leonard Cohen is one of the most covered artists alive today, influencing generations of songwriters, and his music has earned the accolades of other artists in tribute albums in France, Norway, Canada, Spain, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and the United States. “Hallelujah”, one of Cohen’s best-known and best-loved songs has been covered by over 150 artists including Willie Nelson and Bono. His music has been extensively featured in films and on television. Numerous documentaries, awards, and tribute albums acknowledge the far-reaching contribution Cohen has made to music. He continues to refine and deepen his art, and as a musician he is constantly exploring new territory.
The Glenn Gould Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of its sponsors for making these events possible: Government of Ontario, The City of Toronto, Power Corporation of Canada in association with Great-West Life, London Life, Canada Life, Investors Group and Mackenzie Investments, The Bay, Sony Music Canada, Aeroplan Beyond Miles, SOCAN Foundation and The Fairmont Royal York Hotel Toronto.
About the Glenn Gould Foundation
The Glenn Gould Foundation honours Glenn Gould’s spirit and legacy by celebrating brilliance, promoting creativity and transforming lives through the power of music and the arts with the Foundation’s signature activities, including The Glenn Gould Prize. The international award is presented biennially to a living luminary who has made a unique lifetime contribution through the arts. Past laureates include Dr. José Antonio Abreu (2008), founder of El Sistema, Venezuela’s free music education program for children and youth, Pierre Boulez (2002), Oscar Peterson (1993) and Yo-Yo Ma (1999). For more information on the foundation, prize and laureates visit www.glenngould.ca .
Photo: Leonard Cohen. ©2008 Clara Molden.
2012-05-07
Toronto: Leonard Cohen names Sistema Toronto winner of City of Toronto Protégé Prize