Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Celebrations

November 25th – 27th, 2016
Ottawa, Ontario

For the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize celebrations in Canada’s national capital, The Glenn Gould Foundation mounted a wide-ranging array of extraordinary cultural events dubbed “The Grand Tour.” The Tour provided a unique complement to the Prize gala concert and award ceremony, exploring the many ways in which arts and culture inform, enliven and illuminate the public realm, touching all aspects of society, confronting vital social issues, and enriching our most significant public institutions.

The Grand Tour events included:

• a round table discussion on the artist’s response to the important issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women featuring: Susan Aglukark, Joseph Boyden, Jaime Black (creator of the REDress Project) and filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk, moderated by the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs;
• exclusive after-hours tour of Parliament;
• tour of the Senate by the Usher of the Black Rod;
• dinner in the Indigenous People’s Committee Room in Centre Block hosted by Senator Peter Harder;
• exclusive concert in the spectacular Senate Foyer by young Canadian violin virtuoso Emma Meinrenken and pianist Su Jeon Higuera;
• reception in the Senate Speaker’s Chamber;
• presentation on “Sculpting Glenn Gould and Oscar Peterson” featuring Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy with Kelly Peterson, Oscar’s widow;
• presentation on national affairs and cultural diplomacy by Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief for the Globe and Mail;
• tour illuminating the ongoing transformation of the National Arts Centre by its CEO, Peter Herrndorf;
• an intimate conversation between Glenn Gould Prize Laureate Philip Glass and Pulitzer Prize winning writer Tim Page;
• reception at the Official Residence of the Ambassador of the United States of America;
• tour of the National Gallery of Canada led by its architect Moshe Safdie and the Gallery’s Director Marc Mayer
• and the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Award Ceremony and gala concert featuring the presentation of the Prize to Laureate Philip Glass and the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize to young composer and pianist Timo Andres, hosted by the inimitable Petula Clark (who served on the jury that selected Mr. Glass).

Performers included:

• The National Arts Centre Orchestra conducted by celebrated maestro Dennis Russell Davies;
• Pianist Simone Dinnerstein
• Cellist Matt Haimovitz
• Petula Clark, who gave a moving rendition of Glass’s song, Streets of Berlin, originally composed for Mick Jagger
• Timo Andres, who performed his own composition, Heavy Sleep