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The 2004 Canada Reads Panelists
Here's your chance to get to know this year's
panelists. Scroll down to learn who they are,
then click on the links for their book selections.
Special feature: Todd
Butler, Host of CBC Radio's Madly
Off in All Directions composed
a musical ode to the Canada Reads panelists and
books. Download
the MP3 here.
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Measha
Brueggergosman
Soprano
Book: The
Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro
Born in New Brunswick,
this 26-year-old soprano is in great demand
all over the world as a concert artist
and opera singer. She was awarded the Grand
Prize at the 2002 Jeunesses Musicales Montreal
International Competition and has been
a prizewinner in many other renowned international
competitions.
Measha's credits
include roles in Elektra, Dead Man Walking,
and as Liù in Turandot, all with
the Cincinnati Opera. She has also performed
the Verdi Requiem with Sir Andrew Davis
and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as
well as with Helmuth Rilling at the International
Beethoven Festival Bonn. She has appeared
with Ben Heppner in Toronto, and in
Ottawa with the National Arts Centre Orchestra
under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman.
Measha has also
been honoured to sing for Queen Elizabeth
II, the Prince of Wales,
and Nelson Mandela. She currently
lives with her husband in Augsburg, Germany.
Measha's
book selections
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Glen
Murray
Mayor, City
of Winnipeg
Book: Green
Grass, Running Water by
Thomas King
Glen Murray is
now serving his second term as Mayor of
Winnipeg, having been elected to the position
in 1998 and 2002.
Canada's first
openly gay Mayor of a major city, Glen
entered
civic government with a diverse background
in communications, business and health.
Glen was born and
raised in Montreal where he attended Concordia
University's School
of Community and Public Affairs, majoring
in Urban Studies, and served as President
of the student union. Glen was sent to
Winnipeg on assignment from Canada Post
and fell in love with the city. Winnipeg
has been his home since 1985. He is currently
leading a campaign for a "New Deal
for Cities" - an effort to redefine
the role of urban communities within the
Canadian federation.
Glen's
book selections
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Francine
Pelletier
Filmmaker
and Journalist
Book: Le
coeur est un muscle involontaire (The
Heart is an Involuntary Muscle) by
Monique Proulx
Francine Pelletier
has been a journalist for more than 20
years, in Quebec and English Canada. She
has written for La Presse, Le Devoir and
the Montreal Gazette, and is the founder
of the feminist journal La Vie en Rose.
Francine was Quebec
City correspondent for Le Point, CBC's
French language network
current affairs program, and a commentator
for both CBC Newsworld and the PBS program,
The Editors. In March 1995, she became
a correspondent for CBC's National Magazine
then joined CBC's flagship current affairs
program The Fifth Estate, which she co-hosted
for five years.
Francine has won
many accolades for her work, including
a Gabriel
award,
two Gemini awards and a Canadian Association
of Journalists' award. Since leaving
The Fifth Estate, Francine has established
herself as a documentary filmmaker.
Her most recent production is Monsieur,
about
former Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau.
Francine lives in Montreal.
Francine's
book selections
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Jim
Cuddy
Musician
Book: The
Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe
Jim Cuddy is a
vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for
the multi-platinum-selling band Blue Rodeo.
Blue Rodeo has released nine studio albums,
and in 1998 Jim released a solo album All
in Time.
When Jim got his
first guitar at the age of ten, the first
song he learned
was Gordon Lightfoot's "That's What
You Get For Loving Me". In the seventeen
years since forming Blue Rodeo, Jim and
Greg Keelor have become widely respected
as one of Canada's best songwriting teams.
Their albums have been perennial chart
toppers, accumulating sales of more than
two million records. Blue Rodeo has been
nominated for 18 Juno awards, and won 6
including "Best Vocalist" for
his solo CD.
Jim Cuddy lives
in Toronto with his wife and three children.
Jim's
book selections
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Zsuzsi
Gartner
Author
Book: Barney's
Version by
Mordecai Richler
Zsuzsi Gartner
is the author of the story collection,
All the Anxious Girls on Earth, which received
rave reviews and made the books-of-the-year
lists in The Globe & Mail, The National
Post, Quill & Quire, and Chatelaine
magazine. It was also published in the
United States.
An award-winning
magazine journalist (most recently, a Gold
Award
at the 2003 Western Magazine Awards for
feature writing), Zsuzsi has worked as
a senior editor at Saturday Night and books
editor for The Georgia Straight. She is
currently the "Meat" columnist
for Toro magazine, and a regular book reviewer
for The Globe & Mail. She has been
Writer-in-Residence at the University of
British Columbia and a faculty member of
the Banff Centre's Writing Studios.
Zsuzsi
lives in Vancouver with her husband and
young son, and, like Barney Panofsky,
favours a fine single malt (Laphroaig,
if you must
know).
Zsuzsi's
book selections
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