Peter Simon

Dr. Peter Simon has served as President and CEO of the Royal Conservatory since 1991. Under his leadership, the venerable Canadian institution has undergone a dynamic and dramatic transformation, culminating in the completion of the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, the opening of Koerner Hall in 2009 and the formation of a new Performing Arts Division.

Dr. Simon also created Learning Through the Arts in 1994, an acclaimed program used in hundreds of schools nationwide to advance the effectiveness of public education and to offer youth at risk a more meaningful learning environment.

In 1997 he founded The Glenn Gould School an internationally recognized training centre for gifted young musicians and in 2002, the ARC Ensemble the RCM’s Grammy nominated Ensemble in Residence. Most recently the Marilyn Thomson Early Childhood Education Centre was inaugurated with the aim of designing developmental programs in conjunction with the RCM’s neuroscience Research Centre.

Today approximately 500,000 students across Canada and the United States utilize the RCM curriculum and assessment system to study a musical instrument and develop an appreciation of creative activity. More than 30,000 independent music teachers and schools are supported by an array of materials and learning platforms provided by the RCM.