This year’s Convocation Ceremony was unusual in two ways - first of all, it was held online and posted on Sunday, May 30, and secondly, it honoured the graduating classes of both 2020 and 2021. Given the world was still coming to understand how to move events online in the spring of 2020, we were not able to celebrate last year’s graduating class at that time.
Even though a year later we aren’t able to host an in-person ceremony, we wanted to take this opportunity to let our graduating students know how proud we are of them and their achievements and to wish them all well as they take the next steps in their musical journeys.
These graduates are all extraordinary individuals who met the challenges of the past two years in their own extraordinary ways. We are proud to now include them amongst our ever-growing community of illustrious alumni.
Here are some highlights from this year’s virtual ceremony.
“As you go forward in your careers, I hope that [the] core belief in the profound importance of music and the benefits it brings will always be your guiding star, and one that is never dimmed.”
James Anagnoson, Dean
“As you go forward in your lives as musicians, you will face adversity. You will face all kind of problems. What you will count on - what you will need - is determination, tenacity and a “make it happen” attitude. We’ve often said in auditions that we can see your talent so quickly, but we can never quite measure that tenacity and “make it happen” attitude. It’s wonderful to see it blossom here while you have been students at The Glenn Gould School.”
“There’s no magic ingredient…that one thing that really will give you a chance at a career. It’s not the thing that you think. It’s not how well you play – the intonation, the beautiful sound – that’s a given. That you have to have. It’s how you treat others and a single focused tenacity and the support that you have shown to each other over the course of the past four years, is itself incredibly inspiring.”
Everyone is invited, and everyone must be included when it comes to what you program. Be a virtual tourist, for the time being. Read up on cultures, study the music of every country and try to incorporate all of these beautiful influences everywhere. We are not designed to be in a bubble, socially or musically. We are here to spread our wings and fly…so fly and never set a limit to your goals and your dreams.
