The Royal Conservatory Announces Multimillion-dollar Donations

Published on October 5, 2016

The RCM is pleased to announce two donations of more than $5 million, from Chancellor Michael Koerner and his wife Sonja as well as from board member James Temerty and his wife Louise.

The Royal Conservatory of Music is pleased to announce two donations of more than $5 million, from Chancellor Michael Koerner and his wife Sonja as well as from board member James Temerty and his wife Louise.

With these donations, The Royal Conservatory reaches the $40 million goal of its Growing Greatness campaign. The campaign was launched in 2013 with the goal of expanding, strengthening, and increasing access to Conservatory programs for people throughout Canada. The campaign was launched by Mr. Koerner, who made the first and last campaign gifts.

To recognize the extraordinary gift of Mr. Koerner and to acknowledge his longstanding support of The Royal Conservatory, the position of President and CEO has been named in his honour, in perpetuity.

The generous contribution of Mr. and Mrs. Temerty has been recognized through the naming of the Temerty Theatre, The Royal Conservatory’s visually striking and versatile performance and event space, as well as the Temerty Orchestral Program, a professional training program of The Glenn Gould School for exceptionally gifted orchestral musicians.

“On behalf of The Royal Conservatory, I thank Michael, Sonja, James, and Louise for their extraordinary support,” says Dr. Peter Simon, the inaugural Michael and Sonja Koerner President & CEO at The Royal Conservatory. “These important gifts strengthen the position of the organization and will be instrumental in helping us expand the delivery of the transformative benefits of music and arts education to hundreds of communities across Canada.”

Michael Koerner and his wife Sonja have contributed substantially to the revitalization of The Royal Conservatory, including the construction of the spectacular Koerner Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Koerner have also donated the striking Michael & Sonja Koerner Early Instrument Collection; established The Alexandra Koerner Yeo Chair in Cello; and have provided funding for the 21C Music Festival, The Conservatory’s annual festival of newly minted music. In 2011, Mr. Koerner was named The Royal Conservatory’s inaugural Chancellor. He was named to the Order of Canada in 1984 and in 2015 received the prestigious Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, in recognition of his position as one of the Canadian cultural community’s most influential advocates and generous supporters.

James Temerty is the founder and chair of Northland Power, Canada’s first independent power producer. In recognition of his achievements as a business leader he was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2010. He and his wife Louise are also dedicated philanthropists who have contributed extensively to the scholarship program of The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. Their generosity has extended to many other organizations as well, including the Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation and Royal Ontario Museum Foundation. Mr. Temerty was named to the Order of Canada in 2008.