The Glenn Gould Foundation Presents 13-Year-Old Music Prodigy Alma Deutscher In Her Canadian Debut

As part of its continuing commitment to young artists, The Glenn Gould Foundation presents thirteen-year-old music prodigy Alma Deutscher in her Canadian debut performance on April 13, 2018 at 8 PM at Koerner Hall (273 Bloor Street West). This extraordinarily gifted young musician will perform a concert in celebration of the international jury for the twelfth Glenn Gould Prize who will be in attendance.

Born in England in 2005, Alma Deutscher is a composer, violinist and pianist. She began playing the piano when she was two, the violin at three and started composing at four. At the age of ten, Alma wrote a full-length opera, Cinderella, which received its fully staged production in Vienna in 2016 and its North American premiere in December 2017 with Opera San Jose. In January 2018 a shortened version of Cinderella opened at the Vienna State Opera. In summer 2016 Alma premiered her piano concerto at the Carinthian Festival, appearing also as soloist in her violin concerto. This year she makes her debuts at the prestigious Aix-en-Provence and Lucerne Festivals.

Alma has been described as "a force of nature" by Sir Simon Rattle and "one of the greatest musical talents today" by Zubin Mehta. In person, she is warm and modest, though confident in her gifts, and prefers to be recognized simply as "Alma" dismissing comparisons that have been drawn between her and Mozart or other celebrated prodigies.

In her Canadian debut, Miss Deutscher will be performing a program entirely of her own music, both as a violinist and pianist, and improvising an original composition from scratch. She will also be joined by guest artists who will sing arias and duets from her opera Cinderella. Visit www.almadeutscher.com for more information on this exceptional young musician.

Tickets to Alma Deutscher - Canadian Debut go on sale Wednesday, March 7 at 10 AM. Tickets are available starting at $55 and can be purchased online at www.rcmusic.com, by phone at 416-408-0208 or in person at the Weston Family Box Office at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning (273 Bloor Street West).

The twelfth Glenn Gould Prize Jury is chaired by Academy Award-nominated actor, painter, poet, and musician Viggo Mortensen (United States/Denmark) and 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 Beverley 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 jury will convene in Toronto on April 11 and 12 to deliberate and select the winner of the twelfth Glenn Gould Prize who 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 news conference is open to the public.

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. 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. 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). For more information visit www.glenngould.ca, follow us on Facebook:TheGlennGouldFoundation or Twitter: @GlennGouldFndn.

Need more Toronto Theatre News in your life? Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...