Classical guitarist Liona Boyd was a trailblazer when she first rose to fame in the 1970s. In 2025, she’ll be inducted as a member of Canada’s Walk of Fame. The organization recently made the announcement of Boyd’s recognition, which coincided with the release of her debut album in 1974.
Canada’s Walk of Fame is a not-for-profit charitable organization that looks to inspire Canadians by spotlighting those who make extraordinary achievements in a variety of fields, counting more than 230 inductions to date.
Liona Boyd is a five-time JUNO Award winner whose induction will be among the first round under the Arts & Entertainment category in 2025.
We caught up with the Canadian icon to ask a few questions.
Liona Boyd
A composer as well as classical guitarist, Boyd was born in London, UK, but grew up in Toronto. That’s where her parents gifted her with a classical guitar they’d bought on a trip to Spain. She was 13 years old. She fell in love with the instrument after attending a concert featuring Julian Bream, and went on to study with the best, including Bream himself, and Andrés Segovia. Liona earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto in 1972, and followed it up with two years of private study with Alexandre Lagoya in Paris.
She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1975, and began a touring career that included performing as an opening act for Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot.
Boyd would build a successful international career that saw her performing for royalty and heads of state, in concerts all over the world, in numerous recordings, and television appearances.
But, success itself would take a toll.
In 2002, her career would take a hit when she was diagnosed with focal dystonia, a poorly understood condition that affects the specific function of certain fingers, and is often found in musicians. As she described it in an interview, “It seemed that 40 years of playing the same notes millions of times had caused one finger to rebel and no longer obey my brain’s commands.”
After quitting the stage in 2003, she would reinvent herself as she retrained her affected finger to play, and make a comeback in 2009.
“I now realized that I was a natural songwriter and reinvented myself as a singer, while still playing my beloved guitar with a simplified technique.” she explained in an interview.
She’s released several albums and toured since then.
Boyd has become known for blending classical, folk, and various global elements into her music, and has recorded 30 albums.
Along with her JUNO collection, Boyd was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, among many other awards and recognition. She is also the writer of two autobiographies, In My Own Key (1998) and No Remedy for Love (2017), and a children’s book.
Liona’s latest full-length album, Once Upon a Time, was released in 2023, and a video for the instrumental track Shadows of the Wind dropped just a few weeks ago.
Liona Boyd: Q&A
We asked the celebrated musician about her career, and what it means to be included in The Walk of Fame.
What keeps you making music a half century after the release of your debut album?
Music has enabled me to have an exciting and adventurous life. Being creative with my guitar and with my lyrics gives me the most profound joy imaginable. I love coming up with new music, and often while writing melodies it feels as though they are flowing into me from another dimension. I have experimented with so many different styles and am delighted that all of my albums are now available to buy or stream.
When I remember all the symphonies I performed with, my hundreds of solo concerts, my two major tours with my own band and countless concerts, more recently with a duo partner playing and singing with me, I feel truly blessed.
Your most recent release, Once Upon A Time, reimagines some of your earlier work, along with presenting new compositions, but seems ultimately to have a timeless quality. Is that a goal, to create a sound world for your listeners that is outside of the everyday experience?
Yes, that is very perceptive of you. My producer Peter Bond and I wanted this to be a timeless album. Much of it was inspired by film scores, hence its expansive sound stage. Indeed my hope is that the album will provide an escape beyond the everyday experience. One of the pieces was based on an older composition of mine called “Shadows Of The Wind”, which is one of my favourite melodies. I love Peter’s new production for it. We just released a video for it that’s on my YouTube Vevo channel The album has many big and intimate moments, often within the same piece. For example the opening track, Cantarium, with it’s stately themes and unexpected transcendental classical guitar cadenza.
Once Upon A Time was well suited to the Atmos (Immersive audio) mixes that are available on Apple Music. Peter worked with Jeff Wolpert with the Atmos mixes, but of course the album sounds amazing in Stereo too!
This summer I revisited my duet with Olivia Newton-John with a new production, “Summer Dreams”, which we released in August along with a video. It’s had a great response from both her fans and mine with over 70k audio streams.
In the classical world, despite the careers of artists like you, the guitar has been seen as something of an outlier, but it seems like there is a renewed interest in it just recently. Would you agree — is it something you’ve observed yourself as an advocate of the instrument?
Yes, and perhaps being in lockdown during the pandemic fired up many people to take up the classical guitar. It seems that there are more players than ever and the guitar scene is very healthy.
As an unofficial international ambassador and champion for the classical guitar my whole career, I find it immensely satisfying to see such a large number of talented classical guitarists from around the world. And finally today this includes so many female players, something that was unusual when I started my career in the mid seventies.
Who are you listening to these days? Are there any young Canadian artists on your playlists?
Quite honestly I have not kept “au courante” with the Canadian classical guitar scene, but through my website I hear from many who credit me with having inspired them. Earlier this year I “paid it forward” by purchasing 30 beautiful new guitars from Yamaha and held a giveaway across Canada through Long & McQuade we had a huge response with over 17,000 entries. I received the most wonderful letters of appreciation from the winners, which were published in latest L&M magazine.
I hope many parents will buy guitars for their kids over the holidays. After all, it was a Christmas present that led me to this most beautiful of instruments.
What does inclusion in the Walk of Fame mean to you?
I am thrilled to be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame along with so many distinguished Canadians from diverse fields. It’s hard to believe I have spent over 50 years in the music business! I know I introduced millions to the classical guitar when I appeared on television shows such as the Tonight Show and NBC’s Today, as well as having my own TV specials in various countries including Canada.
I’m very touched and honoured by this recognition and am grateful to all my fans and supporters and to Canada’s Walk of Fame for choosing to include me.
- The 2025 Canada’s Walk of Fame Awards Show and Gala Celebration will take place on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- THE SCOOP | Stravinsky & Strauss: The Toronto Symphony Orchestra & National Arts Centre Orchestra Offer New Recordings For 2025 - January 17, 2025
- PREVIEW | Brilliant Baroque: Tafelmusik Celebrates Korean New Year - January 17, 2025
- THE SCOOP | Maestro Alexander Shelley And Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra Set To Tour Republic Of Korea And Japan This Spring - January 16, 2025
