Glenn Gould Foundation/Fondation Glenn-Gould

Glenn Gould Foundation/Fondation Glenn-Gould

Glenn Gould Foundation/Fondation Glenn-Gould (Glenn Gould Memorial Foundation/Fondation à la mémoire de Glenn Gould, until November 1987), founded in 1983 to establish and support projects which provide a memorial to Gould and his work by such means as broadcasts, publications, exhibitions, and conferences concerned with Gould and the field of music and communications, both in Canada and abroad.

The principal activity of the foundation is the Glenn Gould Prize in Music and Communication. Announced 24 April 1986, the prize is intended as 'a tribute by the people of Canada to the life and work of Glenn Gould' and is awarded to recognize 'an exceptional contribution to music and its communication through the use of any of the communications technologies.' Recipients, who must have 'earned national or international recognition for their work,' may be chosen from a broad range of fields including performance, film, video, television, radio and recordings, music theatre, and writing, and may come from any country. The cash award of $50,000 was financed by the Glenn Gould Prize Fund launched by a contribution from Floyd S. Chalmers and later supplemented by the governments of Canada and Ontario, the municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and a number of individuals and foundations. The proceeds of the 1985 International Bach Competition were donated to the fund. Recipients also receive a work of art by a Canadian artist. (endowed by M. Joan Chalmers C.C., O. Ont, and the Woodlawn Arts Foundation), a bronze sculpture of Glenn Gould by Canadian artist Ruth Abernathy (endowed by Air Canada), a new portrait photograph mounted in the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC in Toronto, and the right to name an exceptional young musician to receive the $10,000 City of Toronto - Glenn Gould international Protégé Prize in Music and Communication. The triennial prize is administered by the Canada Council.

Past laureates include R. Murray Schafer (1987), Yehudi Menuhin (1990), Oscar Peterson, C.C. (1993), Toru Takemitsu (1996), Yo-Yo Ma (1999), and Pierre Boulez (2002). Past Protégé Prize winners include Benny Green (1993), Tan Dun (1996), Wu Man (1999), Jean-Guihen Queyras (2002), Sir André Previn (2005) and Dr. José Antonio Abreu (2008).

In 1992, the foundation marked Gould's sixtieth birthday with a five-day World Conference entitled Music & Communication in the 21st Century: Variations on Themes of Glenn Gould. As part of its outreach activities, the foundation inaugurated the Friends of Glenn Gould Society in 1995. The society has an international membership, made up of individuals from over 36 countries who share a common interest in Gould's life, artistic accomplishments and visionary ideas. The society produces Glenn Gould, a biannual magazine that features previously unpublished works by Gould (letters, articles, interviews, compositions, sketches, transcriptions, radio plays) and articles by Gould scholars from all over the world.