Celebrating 31 Years of Leadership
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Simon!
The Peter Herrndorf Arts Leadership Award celebrates an arts leader who has spent a lifetime dedicated to building partnerships and fostering the arts in Canada. We are delighted to recognize Dr. Peter Simon as this year’s recipient.
This award celebrates an arts leader who has spent a lifetime dedicated to fostering the arts in Canada.
A tireless champion of the arts nationally and internationally, Dr. Peter Simon is celebrating 31 years with The Royal Conservatory (RCM). Since beginning his tenure as president and CEO in 1991, Dr. Simon has led a dynamic transformation of the programs and facilities of The Royal Conservatory resulting in a dramatic expansion of the number of participants, earned and donated revenues, endowment funds, and scholarship support for students.
In 2005, Dr. Simon initiated a landmark capital project that led to the revitalization of the institution’s Bloor Street facility. A comprehensive fundraising campaign attracted private, corporate and government investments to create the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning — a hybrid facility that serves both educational and broader cultural purposes. The project included the restoration of a heritage site and serves as an anchor to the bustling cultural precinct along Bloor Street. Its centrepiece, Koerner Hall, is regarded as one of the finest concert halls in the world. To date, Koerner Hall has hosted more than 2,000 events, reaching over 1,000,000 individuals across Canada and around the globe. More than half of the concerts feature Canadian artists, with musicians from 75 countries having graced its stage. Nearly 80 non-profit arts organizations use the facility, making it a platform for a diversity of voices and an important cultural hub for Toronto and beyond.
Here’s what others have to say:
I have met many business leaders throughout my career and I can say that Peter Simon is that rare breed of leader whose instincts are extraordinary, whose passion is undeniable and whose ability to bring the right combination of people together is key to his, and the RCM’s, success. From the refurbishment of the historical building on Bloor Street that required both private and public support, to the creation of Koerner Hall, The Glenn Gould School, The Taylor Academy and the newly renamed Oscar Peterson School, Peter has orchestrated something extraordinary that is nothing less than a phoenix rising from the ashes. – Tim Price, Chair, The Royal Conservatory
I have observed the care and passion with which he manages this institution, the respect he shows every artist, every student, and every staff member, and the broad vision he has for always improving, sharing, and bringing growth to The Royal Conservatory of Music and, in the process, to the arts in Canada. His innovative thought is matched by his boundless energy and enthusiasm for creating programs that bring quality music education to as many people as possible, throughout Canada and internationally. – Kelly Peterson
Peter Herrndorf Arts Leadership Award Partner:
Congratulations to all of the Award Recipients!
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