The future of music education in Canada and around the world was the focus for a hugely successful symposium, Oct. 28, 2009, at the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) in Toronto, presented by the SOCAN Foundation and the Glenn Gould Foundation, in partnership with the Conservatory. The event was timed to coincide with a high-profile visit to the city by Dr. José Antonio Abreu, recipient of this year’s Glenn Gould Prize and founder of Venezuela’s revolutionary music-education program known as El Sistema. Longtime SOCAN member and Foundation board member Murray McLauchlan served as host for the day.

The symposium featured an inspiring introduction of Dr. Abreu by multi-Grammy-winning singer Linda Ronstadt, who has been a driving force in the U.S. for reforming music education in the schools; a one-on-one interview with Dr. Abreu by RCM president Dr. Peter Simon; a keynote by McGill University neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Levitin, internationally renowned author of the New York Times best-seller This Is Your Brain on Music; a wide range of exciting performances by young artists, including participation by the School Alliance of Student Songwriters (SASS); and a series of panel discussions, including success stories from adoptees of the El Sistema program in Scotland, New York City, Ottawa and Saint-John, N.B.