A generous donation from Ian Telfer and Nancy Burk will support the construction and ongoing operations of a beautiful and innovative new venue for the university’s renowned faculty of music. This donation is the largest ever received by the faculty and one of the largest for music in this country.
The Jay Telfer Forum, named for Ian Telfer’s late brother, musician and screenwriter Jay Telfer, will provide Toronto’s arts and culture sector with a much-needed mid-size performance venue, where some of the students in Canada’s most inspiring music artists will be able to develop their talents. and scholars can exchange musical ideas. A venue of this quality will also help attract notable artists to the city.
“The Jay Telfer Forum will have a profound impact on the educational experience of music students at U of T. It will give them the opportunity to hone their artistic talent in an incredibly beautiful, state-of-the-art venue with a jaw-dropping show . view of the Toronto skyline. And it will put them at the center of a bustling new crossroads of other students and scholars, as well as leading artists and the general public,” said the University of Toronto President. Meric Gertler. “On behalf of the University of Toronto, I would like to thank Ian Telfer and Nancy Burke for their transformative leadership and generosity in enabling us to realize this incredibly exciting vision for the University and the city around us.
Once built, the Jay Telfer Forum will be a particularly ideal venue for soloists and chamber music groups. It will offer top-notch acoustics, stunning views of Toronto, and a flexible, technologically advanced infrastructure capable of broadcasting the forum’s thrilling performances to the world through high-quality recordings and live streams. In addition to the forum’s primary use as a concert hall, it will host conferences and academic events, serving as a hub of artistic innovation and academic exchange for the university and the city as a whole. This incredible space will also enhance performance teaching at the Faculty of Music.
“It’s a hallmark of our programs for students to perform in professional-grade venues, which prepares them for future artistic careers, and for our scholars to engage audiences in their groundbreaking musical research,” said Ellie Hisama, Dean of the Faculty of Music. “The Jay Telfer Forum will greatly enhance these opportunities for students and the thousands of spectators who join us for our public events each year.
“The Jay Telfer Forum will be a fitting tribute to my brother: a place where aspiring musicians can learn, experience and grow,” said Ian Telfer. “Nancy and I hope this gift will uplift the entire arts community in Toronto as it emerges from one of its most difficult times.”
The university’s faculty of music and its more than 7,500 alumni have been the foundation of Toronto’s vibrant music scene, with dozens of arts organizations tracing their roots to the faculty. It has produced some of the greatest artists of our generation – including Academy Award-winning film composer Mychael Danna, Grammy-winning soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan, and multidisciplinary soprano and creator Measha Brueggergosman – and its graduates have won numerous Canadian and international awards for their work.
The Jay Telfer Forum will be a centerpiece of a new development at 90 Queen’s Park for the study of civilizations, cultures and cities. Once complete, the forum will enrich the landscape of arts organizations in the region, which includes the Royal Ontario Museum, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Faculty of Music’s two other public venues, MacMillan Theater and Walter Hall.
Donation from Ian Telfer and Nancy Burke helps fund the university Defy Gravity Campaign – the largest alumni engagement and fundraising effort in Canadian history. The campaign aims to inspire 225,000 alumni to dedicate their time and talent to college a million times collectively, and raise $4 billion to develop the ideas, innovations and talents needed to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. most pressing issues of our time.
“This gift is an inspiring example of how philanthropy can help unite us at a time when human connection and live performance have become more valuable and important than ever,” said david palmvice president of advancement at U of T. “His impact will be felt throughout Toronto’s arts community.”
For more than a hundred years, the Faculty of Music at the U of T has been Canada’s leading institution for musical creation, performance education, and innovative research in fields such as ethnomusicology, musicology, education, music theory, music and health. It prepares future generations of leaders in the arts, including hundreds of performers, composers, scholars and educators who are shaping the musical experience of tomorrow and sustaining Canada’s cultural economy. The faculty hosts over 600 events in a typical year – more than any other local institution – with performances spanning a range of genres, from classical and jazz to pop, world music and opera .
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