The Glenn Gould Protege Prize Goes to Sistema

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.