The writer and lawyer Philippe Sands (East West Street, 2016; The Ratline, 2020; The Last Colony, 2022), winner of the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize, is in conversation with Gideon Zelermyer, the Cantor of Montréal’s Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, about Leonard Cohen. The Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, Canada is the oldest and largest Ashkenazi synagogue and the spiritual home to six generations of Leonard Cohen’s family. Philippe Sands has been inspired by Leonard Cohen since he was fifteen, frequently invoking lyrics from Cohen’s songs in his writings and lectures. Cantor Gideon Zelermyer worked with Cohen on his last album, together winning a Grammy for the title song, You Want it Darker. Philippe Sands and Gideon Zelermyer explore what it is about Cohen’s work, on life, love and law, and on politics and war, that inspires. Cantor Zelermyer and the Shaar Hashomayim Choir will also perform some of Leonard Cohen’s most beloved compositions.
450, Kensington Avenue, Westmount
- Refunds
- Until the event starts
- Access for persons with mobility impairment
- Yes
