THE GLENN GOULD PARADE

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Conceived by Thom Sokoloski

Designed by Jerrard Smith

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Produced by the Glenn Gould Foundation

 

 

Almost 30 years ago for the 50th anniversary of Glenn Gould's birthday on September 25, 1992. The Glenn Gould Foundation commissioned me to conceive an art event to celebrate it. Along with designer Jerrard Smith, long time collaborator on R. Murray Schafer's music-theatre spectacles, (we had just done Hermes Trismegistos inside Union Station at midnight for WorldStage Festival - thank you Don Shipley) - we came up with The Glenn Gould Birthday Procession (almost a parade).

 

It went along Wellington Street in Toronto, which we also tried to rename from a British General to one of the great pianists and musical minds of the 20th century. We didn't succeed with renaming but we did succeed in getting about 60% of it up - and a shout out to the great John Miller of the Glenn Gould Foundation who got behind it.

 

Above is about a third of what we envisaged and realised for the day. BTW - All the people in blue were music students and the interested public participants. We also had a parade of accordions play a selection of the Goldberg Variations lead by the great Joe Macerollo.

 

In 2022, it will be 80 years since his birth!

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