Viggo Mortensen, Kat Von D, Francois Girard, Ute Lemper And Sondra Radvanovsky Among The Jurors For The Twelfth Glenn Gould Prize

Academy Award-nominated actor, painter, poet, and musician Viggo Mortensen (United States/Denmark) will chair the international jury panel for the twelfth Glenn Gould Prize which includes tattoo and makeup artist, musician, entrepreneur and television personality Kat von D (United States); Academy and Grammy Award-winning director of film, opera and theatre, and accomplished screenwriter François Girard (Canada); singer and actress Ute Lemper (Germany); writer and former Chief Justice The Right Honourable Beverly McLachlin (Canada); painter Naeemeh Naeemaei (Iran); acclaimed soprano Sondra Radvanovsky (Canada/United States); Academy Award-winning composer and conductor Howard Shore, OC (Canada); kora virtuoso and composer Foday Musa Suso (Gambia/United States); and award-winning composer and Chairman of the China Musicians' Association Professor Ye Xiaogang (China).

The Glenn Gould Prize - which has been referred to as "The Nobel Prize of the Arts" - is awarded to a living individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts. A tribute to Glenn Gould's artistry and his multifaceted contributions to culture, the Prize promotes the vital connection between artistic excellence and the transformation of lives. The life's work of a Glenn Gould Laureate embodies this connection.

The jury will convene in Toronto on April 11 and 12 to deliberate and select a laureate. Nominees for the international prize hail from a broad spectrum of creative disciplines including music, theatre, writing, film, video, radio, television, recording, technology, architecture and design.

The winner of the twelfth Glenn Gould Prize will be announced at a news conference on Friday, April 13, 2018 at 12:30 PM at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning (273 Bloor Street West, Toronto) in the Leslie and Anna Dan Galleria.

The winner of the Glenn Gould Prize receives a cash prize of $100,000 (CAD) and the Glenn Gould Prize statue by Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy. The Laureate's work is honoured through a series of public events presented the following year.

Past laureates include 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).

The winner will choose an outstanding young artist or ensemble who embodies the qualities of creative promise, innovation and career potential demonstrated by Gould in his youth to receive The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize. The recipient of the Protégé Prize will be announced later this year.

A special public concert in honour of the jury will take place on the evening of April 13 at Koerner Hall, details to be announced.

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. For more information visit www.glenngould.ca.

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