Star-Studded Gala and Exclusive Fundraising Dinner Celebrate Elton John, Glenn Gould’s Enduring Legacy, and the Future of Artistic and Cultural Humanitarian
TORONTO (MAY 11, 2026) — The Glenn Gould Foundation celebrated an unforgettable weekend in Toronto honouring legendary musician, songwriter, philanthropist and global icon Elton John as the 15th Laureate of The Glenn Gould Prize, culminating in a dazzling gala celebration at The Theatre at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto and an exclusive fundraising dinner hosted by estiatorio Milos Toronto.
Photo Credit Shawn Goldberg
The two-day celebration brought together some of Canada’s most celebrated artists, cultural leaders, philanthropists and dignitaries to honour both Elton John and the enduring legacy of Glenn Gould, the visionary Canadian pianist who transformed classical music before his passing in 1982 at the age of 50.
Held before a sold-out audience of nearly 3,500 guests, the gala at The Theatre at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto was an emotional and exhilarating tribute to Elton’s unparalleled artistic and philanthropic legacy and his profound connection to Canada. VIP tables throughout the venue were filled with leading Canadian music industry figures, philanthropists and captains of industry, while admirers and fans packed the venue’s private boxes and theatre seats, showering Elton and the evening’s performers with standing ovations throughout the night.
The evening featured a live tribute from The Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister Responsible for Official Languages who remarked that in his previous role as Immigration Minister he “could have easily used the clause in the immigration act for exceptional people to make you a Canadian, but you chose the easy way – you married one, and a pretty special one at that in David.”
Hosted by Emmy award winning actor Eric McCormack, with exceptional performances by an all-Canadian lineup of artists personally selected by Elton John, alongside tributes celebrating both Elton and Glenn Gould.
Performances included:
- Ryan Wang performing Chopin’s Preludes Op. 28 No. 23 and 24
- Jeremy Dutcher performing I’m Still Standing
- Sarah McLachlan performing Tiny Dancer
- Ron Sexsmith performing Blues for My Baby and Me
- LOONY performing Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
- Emily D’Angelo performing Wild Mountain Thyme and I Know the Truth from Aida
- The Toronto Children’s Chorus joined by Emily D’Angelo performing Can You Feel the Love Tonight
- The Beaches performing The Bitch is Back
- Eric McCormack performing The Greatest Discovery
- Noah Parets and Robyn Black performing Electricity from Billy Elliot the Musical
- Saya Gray performing Honky Cat
- Ryan Wang performing selections from Bach’s Goldberg Variations
- Diana Krall performing Your Song
- The entire cast joining together for a moving finale performance of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Photo Credit Shawn Goldberg
The evening’s musical direction was led by renowned Musical Director Scott Price, known for his work with Céline Dion. The live show was produced by E=MC2 Events. Guests were also deeply moved by touching video tributes and remarks from Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell and former Glenn Gould Prize Laureate Robert Lepage.
One of the evening’s most powerful moments was the presentation of The Glenn Gould Protégé Prize to internationally acclaimed Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, hand-selected by Elton as this year’s Glenn Gould Protégé Prize recipient.
Widely celebrated as one of the most compelling vocal artists of her generation, D’Angelo has achieved international recognition for her powerful artistry, musical intelligence and distinctive voice. Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the world’s special young singers,” D’Angelo has risen meteorically on the global stage since her professional operatic debut at age 21 as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi. Today, she is a sought-after performer at many of the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls.
The Glenn Gould Protégé Prize presentation was introduced by The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada and Chair of the Jury that selected Elton John as Laureate, alongside The Honourable Christine Elliott, former Deputy Premier of Ontario and Chair of the Board of Directors of The Glenn Gould Foundation.
The audience responded with a rousing standing ovation following D’Angelo’s performances of the Celtic folk classic Wild Mountain Thyme and I Know the Truth from Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. Following her performance, Elton embraced D’Angelo onstage before presenting her with the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize statuette.
“I know a star when I see one, and I’m standing next to one,” said Elton John. “It was easy for me to choose you to be the recipient of this award because you’re an exceptional artist and singer. Wild Mountain Thyme blew me away – I haven’t heard that for so long – nor the song from Aida. You are an immaculate performer, an immaculate singer, and I’m so proud to be giving you this award which you so deserve.”
Brian Levine, CEO of The Glenn Gould Foundation in bestowing the Glenn Gould Prize to Elton said “Like Glenn Gould, we believe that the arts are for all of us. The Prize is open to artists in any creative field and of all nationalities and our juries consider the excellence of the candidates’ body of work, their innovation, and a factor we call cultural humanitarianism, an artists’ contribution to making the world more humane, a better place, a more compassionate place and a more inclusive place. From every one of these perspectives, our jury unanimously agreed that our honouree tonight was the perfect choice.
Elton John’s impact has reached across the globe. He is one of the most recognizable musicians of our generation, or any generation.”
Levine went on to speak about his impact across recording, performance, film, television, theatre fashion and philanthropy and quipped, “He is one of a mere handful of EGOTs – winners of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony…Elton, you know stand alone – even among your most distinguished peers – you are now, without a doubt, the world’s only GEGOT.”
In accepting the award, Elton spoke emotionally about his admiration for Glenn Gould, his affection for Canada and his gratitude for receiving the honour.
“When I was approached about receiving this award, I had no qualms about it because Glenn Gould was such an amazing visionary, an incredible musician, an incredible artist and philanthropist; he saw the future,” said Elton John. “He saw the future when he played, he pushed boundaries of classical music, and he became a superstar overnight with his brilliant rendition of Bach. I’m very humbled to be here in his presence – he’s still here, he’s around us all the time because of the legacy of his music.”
Elton went on to praise Canada, earning thunderous applause from the audience. “I have a family here. David, my husband, his family are my family – they live in Toronto, they are part of my life, part of my soul. My children love it here so much, they love their cousins and love their family here. It is part of my life. I am a Canadian.”
Visibly moved by the evening’s tributes, Elton added, “It makes me incredibly proud to be here, and I’m not very good at taking a compliment, so you can imagine how I’m feeling at the moment. But it’s been a joyous two days. We had a dinner last night and it was just wonderful.”
The gala followed an elegant and intimate fundraising dinner for The Glenn Gould Foundation generously hosted by estiatorio Milos Toronto and the Spiliadis family, officially launching the weekend’s celebrations.
Held in Milos Toronto’s stunning heritage Atrium dining room, the dinner brought together many of the gala’s performers including Diana Krall, Eric McCormack, Ron Sexsmith, Jeremy Dutcher, LOONY, Saya Gray, Ryan Wang and Emily D’Angelo, alongside dignitaries and notable guests including The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, British Consul General to Toronto Fouzia Younis, British High Commissioner Richard Tindal, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, arts and business leaders, philanthropists and members of the international music community.
Guests enjoyed Milos’ celebrated Greek cuisine, beginning with signature hors d’oeuvres including Faroe Islands salmon sashimi, Big Eye tuna tartare, traditional tiropitakia and the Milos Special – paper-thin zucchini and eggplant lightly fried and served with tzatziki. The evening continued with a four-course dinner featuring Greek spreads, Milos’ famous tomato salad, calamari, charcoal-broiled Mediterranean octopus, grilled lavraki with olive oil, capers and lemon, and Prime AAA filet mignon from Prince Edward Island, accompanied by horta and Greek fried potatoes. The menu concluded with an assortment of traditional Greek desserts and seasonal fruit. In addition to wine and cocktails, guests were also offered Elton John Zero, the laureate’s new zero-proof blanc de blancs.
Among the evening’s highlights were surprise performances by 18-year-old pianist Ryan Wang – named BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2024 – and Emily D’Angelo, whose soaring vocals filled the Atrium and captivated guests including Elton and David who immediately rose to their feet.
Another memorable moment came during a spirited live auction led by charismatic auctioneer and former Premier of New Brunswick Shawn Graham, featuring once-in-a-lifetime cultural travel experiences to Vienna, Paris and Florence.
Photo Credit Shawn Goldberg
With bidding rising for the Vienna arts and music experience, Elton personally bid $20,000 to secure the package – only to immediately donate it back to The Glenn Gould Foundation in a generous gesture that perfectly reflected the philanthropic spirit celebrated throughout the weekend.
The Glenn Gould Prize is one of the world’s most prestigious international honours recognizing a living individual of any nationality or creative field whose unique lifetime contribution has enriched the human condition through the arts. Established in 1987 by The Glenn Gould Foundation to honour the legacy of legendary Canadian Pianist Glenn Gould, the Glenn Gould Prize is awarded biennially and includes a CDN$100,000 cash award for the Laureate, which Elton again donated back to the Glenn Gould Foundation in support of its programs.
Widely regarded as “The Nobel Prize of the Arts,” the award celebrates creators whose exceptional creativity, vision and artistry reflect the innovative spirit associated with the young Glenn Gould. As part of the prize tradition, each Laureate personally selects an exceptional emerging artist of any nationality and artistic discipline to receive the CDN$25,000 Glenn Gould Protégé Prize.
The Glenn Gould Protégé Prize recognizes outstanding young creators whose work demonstrates extraordinary promise while underscoring the vital role of mentorship, inspiration and artistic encouragement between generations. In addition to the cash award, the recipient receives the Glenn Gould Prize statue created by acclaimed Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy. For first time, both the Glenn Gould Prize and the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize statues were specially plated in 18K gold through the generosity of presenting sponsor Alamos Gold.
One of the most iconic and influential musicians of all time, Elton John was selected as Laureate of the 15th Glenn Gould Prize by a distinguished international jury of artists and cultural leaders that included The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada; Jeremy Irons, Academy Award, Tony Award, and Emmy Award-winning actor; Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, Honourary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music; Martin Katz, Academy Award-winning Canadian film and television producer and Member of the Order of Canada; Chris Levine, internationally acclaimed light artist; Alexander Neef, General Director of the Paris Opera; Lee Hall, celebrated playwright and screenwriter (Billy Elliot, Rocketman), Nyla Innuksuk, Inuk filmmaker and VR pioneer championing Indigenous storytelling; Bernhard Schlink, author of The Reader and recipient of Germany’s Order of Merit.
Following a period of public nominations, the jury considered transcendent excellence, innovation, humanitarian and social contributions, and the lasting cultural impact of each nominee’s work.
“In selecting Elton John, we chose to honour someone whose artistic achievements have been transformed into profound social impact,” said Ms. Campbell. “He has used his success to change lives, embodying the very highest ideals of the arts.”
With a career spanning more than five decades, Elton John has redefined modern music while using his global platform to effect profound social change. He has sold over 300 million albums worldwide, achieved more than 50 Top 40 hits, and is among the few artists to attain EGOT status, with five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. His song “Candle in the Wind,” written with longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, remains the best-selling physical single of all time.
Beyond music, Elton John’s humanitarian impact is extraordinary. Through the Elton John AIDS Foundation, founded in 1992, he has helped raise over USD$650 million for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care worldwide. He is also a tireless advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, addiction awareness, and the nurturing of emerging artists.
The Glenn Gould Foundation extends its deepest gratitude to all artists, patrons, supporters, volunteers and partners whose generosity and passion made this weekend possible and thanks Alamos Gold, Great Canadian Entertainment, estiatorio Milos Toronto, Power Corporation, McCarthy Tetrault, Porter Airlines, Air Canada, Park Hyatt Toronto, Coventry Transportation, The St. Regis Toronto, Yamaha, RBC Foundation, Lupien Family Foundation, Rojaerloo Foundation, Primary Wave, UMusic, MAC, Criterion Collection, Sony Classical, Chocolate de Kat and Stewart Farms. The Glenn Foundation is funded by The Government of Canada.