Inauguration of the Linda and Sheldon Kagan Collection at Vanier College

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Amid smiles, speeches, music and applause, Vanier College officially inaugurated the new Linda and Sheldon Kagan Collection now housed on the 5th floor of the Vanier Library. Last year, well-known Montreal concert promoter Sheldon Kagan donated his extensive collection of albums, CDs, books and music tapes to the Vanier College Music Department. With the completion of the renovated Vanier Learning Commons/Library, the collection now has a permanent home.

“We are very pleased to inaugurate the Linda and Sheldon Kagan Collection of music covering the past 55 years,” says Glen Ethier, Coordinator of the Music Department. “Sheldon Kagan’s generous donation is a stunning collection of recordings—somewhere in the range of 10,000 LPs, 45-rpm singles, CDs, and cassettes that include not only a wide variety of popular music and dance hits from the 1940s until today, but also obscure artists and jazz, classical, and world music. The historical significance of the full collection cannot be overstated, and its worth as a source of study material for students and faculty in all areas of the music program is inestimable.”

“Music is one of Vanier College’s most popular programs and has produced many successful graduates. Sheldon Kagan’s generous donation will allow our students to use materials and hear music that will offer them a unique view of music history and of the entertainment business in Montreal,” says Mr. John McMahon, Director General of Vanier College.

The material that will be available through the library will be used by students from all five Vanier Music programs: Music, Double DCS programs in Science and Music, Social Science and Music, or Languages and Cultures and Music, and Professional Music and Song Techniques, a 3-year program that focusses on Composition and Arrangement or Performance.

Sheldon Kagan provided entertainment for weddings, corporate and special events since 1965. Over 5 decades Sheldon Kagan International produced over 75 major concerts bringing in artists such as Dionne Warwick, The Commodores, Miles Davis, George Benson, Ravi Shankar, Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Buddy Rich and many more.

On hand to celebrate the inauguration of the Collection were friends and performers who had worked with Sheldon for many years including: Patsy Gallant, Wind and Strings, Matt Mardini, Pierre Perpall, and Janice Greenberg, as well as Father John Walsh, Alan Hustak, Guy Trottier and Miki Mihavolich.