January 10, 2019 – TORONTO – Jessye Norman, winner of the Twelfth Glenn Gould Prize, has selected the gifted American jazz singer and composer, Cécile McLorin Salvant, as the recipient of The Glenn Gould Protégé Prize of $15,000 (CAD). The Glenn Gould Protégé Prize is given to an outstanding young artist who shows the promise of an exceptional lifetime contribution to enriching the human condition through the arts, such as that exhibited by the young Glenn Gould.
Ms. McLorin Salvant will perform in the award ceremony and concert, The Glenn Gould Prize Celebrates Jessye Norman on February 20, 2019 at 7:30 p.m., at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, where she will be presented with the Protégé Prize by Jessye Norman.
Since winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2010, Cécile McLorin Salvant has captivated jazz critics and fans with her artistry and unique talent. A multi-GRAMMY® Award winner, she has released five solo albums to date: Cécile (2010), WomanChild (2013), For One To Love(2015), Dreams and Daggers (2017) and The Window (2018). Ms. McLorin Salvant has toured with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
“Singer, songwriter…a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality which light up every note she sings. There is an intense, yet quiet confidence in her music-making that I find compelling and thoroughly enjoyable,” said Jessye Norman.
The Glenn Gould Prize Celebrates Jessye Norman concert on February 20 features performances by the COC Orchestra, esteemed Swedish dramatic soprano Nina Stemme, South African lyric soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, tenor Rodrick Dixon, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, celebrated Canadian-American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta, American jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, and The Nathaniel Dett Chorale directed by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, with conductors Donald Runnicles, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Bernard Labadie and Johannes Debus. Viggo Mortensen, Chair of The Glenn Gould Prize Jury, will be among the presenters at the event.
Tickets to The Glenn Gould Prize Celebrates Jessye Norman gala concert can be purchased through the Four Seasons Centre Box Office and are available by calling 416-363-8231 or online at coc.ca. Tickets start at $45. Tickets to the post-concert Gala Reception may also be purchased through the Four Seasons Centre Box Office. Proceeds help to continue and advance the work of The Glenn Gould Foundation.
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. An international symbol of creative excellence, The Glenn Gould Prize is awarded biennially to a living individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts. Prize laureates include Jessye Norman (2018), Philip Glass (2015), Robert Lepage (2013), Leonard Cohen (2011), Dr. José Antonio Abreu (2008) founder of El Sistema, Pierre Boulez (2002), Yo-Yo Ma (1999), Oscar Peterson (1993) and Lord Yehudi Menuhin (1990). For more information visit www.glenngould.ca, follow us on Facebook: TheGlennGouldFoundation or Twitter: @GlennGouldFndn.
