2025 Annual Report

2025 was a landmark year for The Glenn Gould Foundation on many fronts. 

We convened our first Glenn Gould Prize jury internationally, with our distinguished panel meeting in London, UK, with Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell chairing. The announcement of Elton John as our 15th Laureate was hailed globally and generated media coverage with hundreds of millions of views. 

In October, we presented The Promise of Music – The First World Congress on the Social Impact of Music (POM).  It was a joyful global music festival presenting 15 concerts by 550 musicians from across the globe, each coming from an organization or movement that uses music education as an instrument for human development and social advancement. The second feature of POM was its Forums – presentations by 85 outstanding speakers and panelists: neurologists, mental health professionals, physicians, educators, community organizations and activists, music therapists, AI specialists, economists and musicians whose work has been life-changing. The message of POM was clear: music education is a right for every child. After POM, the Foundation had meetings with provincial ministries of education to share the findings of the Forums, and show the empirical evidence about the impact of music on young people, their mental health, classroom engagement and educational achievements.

Throughout the year, we continued our ongoing podcast series, The Gould Standard, featuring in-depth conversations with some of the world’s most interesting artists.

In 2025, The Glenn Gould Foundation was honoured to receive a major endowment and an operating grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage, a powerful endorsement of our work, and an investment in expanding our contribution to Canadian cultural diplomacy.

For all of you who made this incredible year possible, a heartfelt thank-you.  Keep watching our website and ever-expanding social media feeds for news and announcements. The best is yet to come.