The Canadian composer Beverly Glenn-Copeland has said that he has been diagnosed with dementia, and that his tour dates in Canada and New York state this week will be his last.
In a video posted to Instagram, Glenn-Copeland shared his diagnosis alongside his wife Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland. “We want to challenge the mainstream image of this illness, which focuses on loss,” he said. “We are actively asking the universe to show us where is the life here.”
Now 80, Glenn-Copeland is a lifelong musician – who also wrote for Sesame Street and acted on the Canadian kids’ show Mr Dressup – whose self-released 1986 new age album, Keyboard Fantasies, found widespread acclaim when it was reissued in 2015 thanks to the efforts of a Japanese collector and audiophile named Ryota Masuko.
Described as “modest but stunning” by Resident Advisor, the album chimed with revived interest in ambient and healing music and led to Glenn-Copeland touring and releasing a new record, The Ones Ahead, in 2023.
His resurgence prompted a 2019 documentary, Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story, directed by Posy Dixon. His music also featured in playwright Annie Baker’s 2023 cinema debut, Janet Planet; Romy of the xx sampled his song La Vita on her 2023 hit Enjoy Your Life.
Despite his diagnosis, Elizabeth said in the video that the couple were experiencing “a massive creative renewal” and intended to write a book, adapt a musical and create a children’s TV show: “These things really fill our hearts and keep us grounded in our purpose.”
Beverly Glenn-Copeland said that so far, the syndrome had not affected “my ability to be fully in the moment with those I love”.
Elizabeth said: “One of the things that’s really painful about this illness is that it is taking Glenn away from me, from us, a little bit at a time. Sometimes for me, as his caretaker and as his wife, it feels like death by a thousand cuts. And yet, as these parts of him go, I see his essential light shining brighter than ever. So, as is often the case in life, amid this sadness, there is also a really profound beauty.”
In 2020, the couple sought support from fans after they became “essentially homeless” during the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented them from embarking on a planned tour.
