Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gould.

As a young Canadian who loves music and the arts, as the newly hired fundraising administrator at The Glenn Gould Foundation, I think it is time for me to come clean about something. As a history grad, as a Toronto resident, I, Liz Murray, have been faking it.

Here goes, with great regret, I admit that...
I have merely been pretending to know Mr. Gould.

How, you ask? I shamefully admit to using my old standby "the smile and nod" whenever his name has come up in the past. This was fine until I accepted the position at the Foundation. That is when my conscience started to rebel. Each time I announced the new job to my friends and acquaintances, I had to deal with the inner turmoil caused by pretending to know Mr. Gould. I would find myself yammering on about how he was a famous Canadian pianist. That statue outside of the CBC? Yeah, that is him. I hoped that people would be satisfied with my answers, that they would not think to ask any questions. Yet I found myself slightly comforted by the fact that I was not alone- the majority of my counterparts did not know Mr. Gould either. Comfort turned to regret; it is such a shame that after only 25 years, his legacy is fading away to another generation.


In my new position at The Glenn Gould Foundation, I find myself suddenly working very closely to this fascinating man. Our paths have finally crossed. Better late than never. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gould.


This is the story of Mr. Gould and me.


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