UPDATE (April 9): Sarah McLachlan and the National Ballet’s Noah Parets have been added to the roster of Canadian performers taking the stage at The Glenn Gould Prize Gala Honouring Elton John. The event will be hosted by Will & Grace star Eric McCormack (who is also Canadian) on May 9 at The Theatre at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. The award was first announced in March 2025 and was originally going to be presented in Toronto last fall.
The event, with John in attendance, will feature live performances of John’s songs by a hand-selected group of Canadian artists. Previously announced performers include Diana Krall, The Beaches, Ron Sexsmith, Jeremy Dutcher, LOONY and Ryan Wang.
The event will also feature a performance by mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, a Juno Award and Leonard Bernstein Award recipient. Personally selected by John to receive the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize recognizing exceptional promise and the importance of mentorship in the arts, D’Angelo will be presented the prize during the gala.
“I am so pleased to have been asked to perform at the 15th Glenn Gould Prize Gala honouring Elton John,” McLachlan said in a statement. “As a longtime admirer of Elton’s musicianship and philanthropy, it is thrilling to be able to pay tribute to him in this meaningful way.”
PREVIOUSLY (March 20, 2025): Sir Elton John has been named the 2025 recipient of the Glenn Gould Prize. A wide range of creative talents have won the award over the years. John is only the second to come from the (broadly defined) rock world, following the late Leonard Cohen.
The award was established in 1987 by The Glenn Gould Foundation to honor the legacy of legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, whose 1956 album Bach: Goldberg Variations is considered a classic. Gould died in 1982 at age 50. He received a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2013.
“After spending decades admiring the virtuosity of Glenn Gould’s work, I am awestruck and honored to receive this award,” John said in a statement. John, of course, has won countless lifetime achievement awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, a Grammy Legend Award, the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and induction into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Glenn Gould Prize is awarded biennially and includes a CDN$100,000 cash award for the Laureate, who also selects an exceptional young artist to receive the CDN$25,000 Glenn Gould Protégé Prize.
“In selecting our Laureate, Elton John, we chose to honor someone who has great artistic accomplishments, but whose life and whose art has been translated into something much greater than just performance or the consumption of music and things they’ve created,” said the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada and this year’s jury chair for the Glenn Gould Prize.
“Elton John has used his enormous talent and his great success to change lives. He’s been courageous in taking on causes, whether AIDS, LGBTQ+ rights, addiction and all sorts of issues that were not popular when he engaged with them and he was prepared to take the wonderful success that his musical talent had given him to make a difference in the world. And from our perspective that represents the highest level of achievement for an artist and celebrates the memory of Glenn Gould in the best way.”
“Elton John embodies the spirit of artistic excellence, innovation, and profound humanity that The Glenn Gould Prize was created to celebrate,” added Brian Levine, CEO, Glenn Gould Foundation. “Glenn Gould’s vision was one of boundless creativity, fearless originality and an unshakable commitment to using music as a force for good in the world. Sir Elton has exemplified these ideals throughout his extraordinary career, not only with his incredible musical catalogue and immense talent but also championing emerging artists across genres and using his global platform to inspire transformational humanistic change. His enduring impact on music and culture makes him a truly perfect recipient of this honor.”
The announcement of The Glenn Gould Prize Laureate was made during a public event at Kings Place in London. The event featured a Q&A session with the jury and performances by South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza and 17-year-old Canadian piano prodigy Ryan Wang.
Living candidates of any nationality are eligible for The Glenn Gould Prize, with nominations coming from the public. Disciplines include but are not limited to musical creation or performance, theater, dance, choreography, writing, design, film, television, radio and broadcasting, visual art, multimedia, writing, technology/innovation, architecture and design.
The prize will be presented to John during a special gala celebration to be held in Toronto this fall.
Here’s a complete list of recipients of the Glenn Gould Prize:
1987: R. Murray Shafer
1990: Yehudi Menuhin
1993: Oscar Peterson
1996: Tōru Takemitsu
1999: Yo-Yo Ma
2002: Pierre Boulez
2005: André Previn
2008: José Antonio Abreu
2011: Leonard Cohen
2013: Robert Lepage
2015: Philip Glass
2018: Jessye Norman
2020: Alanis Obomsawin
2022: Gustavo Dudamel
2025: Sir Elton John
