McGuinty Government Providing Endowment To York University

TORONTO - The McGuinty government is creating scholarships in memory of Oscar Peterson to help young people study music at York University.

"Oscar Peterson enriched our lives with his gift of music - so we’re honouring him by helping gifted music students pursue their own dreams," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The government is providing an endowment of $1 million to create five annual $10,000 music scholarships for talented students from underprivileged backgrounds. There will also be a $4-million endowment for the Oscar Peterson Chair in Jazz Performance that will allow professors to conduct in-depth music studies.

"As a professor of music and later as York’s Chancellor, Oscar Peterson was passionate about educating and encouraging the next generation of musicians," said Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. "We’re very proud to help carry on his legacy by awarding these scholarships and attracting world-class educators with this new research chair."

Oscar Peterson was among Canada’s most famous jazz artists. He won eight Grammy Awards and played with jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holiday. He was committed to teaching young people and published original jazz piano studies for practice. He died in Mississauga on December 23, 2007.