Klara and Oscar Bookbinder Estate Gift Creates a Legacy of Support for Quality Music Education in Canada
The Kodály Society of Canada (KSC) has received a $250 000 gift from the estate of the late Klara and Oscar Bookbinder of Rockwood, Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Bookbinder were both committed music educators with personal connections to Hungarian composer, musicologist, and pedagogue Zoltán Kodály.
“The Kodály Society of Canada is humbled and honoured to be part of the Bookbinder’s legacy in Canada,” according to KSC president Dr. Jody Stark, who notes that the Bookbinder gift will allow the association to support quality music education in Canadian schools and communities in a variety of ways. Stark adds, “The impact of this gift from the Bookbinder Estate is enormous for music education in Canada. We anticipate being able enact several initiatives that will have a direct benefit to music educators and students across the country.”
The Bookbinders immigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1957 in the aftermath of the Hungarian Revolution. Prior to leaving Hungary, Klara earned her Master of Music degree in Piano Methodology and became the head of the music department at a Teachers College in Hungary. Kodály was one of her teachers. Oscar studied organ and conducting and then worked under Kodály as a research fellow with the Institute for Musicology at the Hungarian Academy of Arts of Sciences.
Upon settling in Toronto, Klara taught piano lessons and group music classes in several schools in Toronto and Rockwood. Klara’s approach to teaching was influenced by her education and experience in Hungary, and she self-published 10 books of pedagogical compositions and two volumes of compositions by her students. While Oscar studied engineering and starting a consulting firm, he also taught music theory and piano and helped Klara teach group music classes. Klara passed away in 2017. Upon Oscar’s death in July 2019, their estate made the substantial gift to the Kodály Society of Canada in honour of the Bookbinder’s longstanding commitment to music education and their association with Zoltán Kodály.
The majority of the Bookbinder Legacy gift has been invested in an endowment with the proceeds supporting initiatives and projects for four pillar areas: (1) Teacher education and professional learning; (2) Curriculum development and pedagogical resources; (3) Research in support of quality music education; and (4) Outreach and operations. The remainder of the Bookbinder gift is already being used to benefit Canadian music teachers and students. The KSC has planned a series of free online workshops for music teachers throughout the 2020-21 school year in response to increasing awareness of systemic racism and to support music teachers during the time of COVID. Workshop details can be found on the KSC website at https://www.kodalysocietyofcanada.ca .
A portion of the Bookbinder funds will also go to the Kodály Society of Ontario (KSO) in support of an ambitious music teacher professional learning project across the province. “We plan to offer workshops for early childhood, kindergarten and primary music educators in as many Ontario regions as possible over the next five years,” explains KSO president Dr. Kim Eyre. “We want to honour Mrs. Bookbinder’s commitment to early childhood music education in an impactful way and support teachers to bring music into their classrooms at a critical stage of children’s development.” Both Eyre and Stark are excited at the possibilities the fund makes possible for their respective organizations.
The Kodály Society of Canada wishes to express its heartfelt thanks to Mr. Peter Hannam, the Estate Executor, and his daughter Carol, who studied piano with Mr. and Mrs. Bookbinder growing up.
For more information contact:
Dr. Jody Stark, President, Kodály Society of Canada
Dr. Kim Eyre, President, Kodály Society of Ontario
Attached photo: Mr. Peter Hannam presents a cheque for $250 000 to Dr. Kim Eyre, Kodály Society of Canada Past-President and Kodály Society of Ontario President.