Harvey Glatt, a beloved businessman, philanthropist, and champion of the arts, passed away in Ottawa on August 19 at the age of 91.
Glatt’s cultural contributions to Ottawa over the course of six decades were diverse and unparalleled. His many ventures included radio station CHEZ-FM and The Treble Clef retail music stores.
His son Richard Glatt describes him as an Ottawa legend, music icon and visionary, and someone who was a huge supporter of all music (especially Canadian) and the arts.
He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a risk taker, passionate, beyond generous, and a humble supporter and champion of Canadian talent and the entire music industry, as well as all arts,” Richard writes on Facebook. “Harvey made the media and arts community a better place. He fostered and supported musicians, artists, colleagues, friends, and family. For all of this, we say thank you Harvey.”
Harvey Glatt. Photo provided by Richard Glatt.
His work in radio broadcasting, retail music sales, concert promotion, and music publishing and distribution had a profound effect on Ottawa’s arts scene. Alongside his wife Louise (who passed away in 2022), Glatt befriended and supported many performers, events and organizations in the nation’s capital.
This impact is noticeable, as an enormous outpouring of gratitude and love followed on social media channels shortly after the announcement of his passing.
Ottawa’s mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, recalled how Glatt gave him his first full-time radio job at CHEZ-FM.
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Glatt was born in Ottawa and graduated from Glebe Collegiate. In 1957, he cofounded The Treble Clef, the first exclusive record and music store in Ottawa, which eventually expanded to a 15-store chain.
He also began producing concerts and publishing songs by local artists. Glatt managed local bands such as The Children, whose many members included Bruce Cockburn, David Wiffen, and Sneezy Waters.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, he also ran the label Posterity Records with releases by local and national musicians. Glatt produced major concerts through his company, Bass Clef.
In 1977, Glatt founded CHEZ-FM. This ground-breaking radio station featured progressive rock, more than the mandated amount of Canadian music and sophisticated spoken-word programming. By 1987, CHEZ-FM was the highest-rated station in the Ottawa area with an impressive 300,000 listeners, according to the REC Canadian station database.
A soft-spoken man known for his kindness, Glatt had a calm demeanour and was as comfortable speaking with famous superstars as he was with emerging artists. He and his wife, Louise, had an uncanny ability to recognize artistic talent and offered encouragement, advice and often financial assistance.
When Glatt produced the first single by Ottawa singer-songwriter James Leroy in 1973, it went high on the charts and eventually sold 100,000 copies. Singer-songwriter Suzie Vinnick remembered Glatt as someone who gave developing musicians room to grow.
Glatt also helped finance Ottawa’s legendary folk café Le Hibou, which showcased musicians, poets and visual artists from Canada and abroad. Le Hibou operated from 1960 to 1975, and featured local performers as well as musicians such as Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, George Harrison, Odetta and Kris Kristofferson.
Another one of the many local organizations Glatt assisted was the Ottawa Folk Festival. Gene Swimmer, Executive Director from 1996 to 2006, recalled that Harvey and Louise were always spiritually and financially supportive of the folk festival in its early days and helped to establish the event.
“He was a big champion of Canadian music,” says Swimmer.
Glatt was recognized with honours, including induction into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2014, he received the Estelle Klein Award from Folk Music Ontario and the Unsung Hero Award from the Canadian Folk Music Awards organization. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters praised Harvey and his wife, Louise, in 2008 for making a large donation to the National Arts Centre (NAC) for an assistive audio system for patrons who are hard of hearing.
In February 2025, Glatt wrote an essay entitled Why I Give to the Performing Arts published on the NAC website. It outlined how he and Louise, who was an accomplished classical pianist, supported many aspects of music in Ottawa. The Glatt family purchased a Steinway piano in Louise’s memory that was installed in Southam Hall in spring 2025.
Alan Chrisman, who owned several record stores in Ottawa and was a friend of Glatt’s, wrote and recorded a song called The Ballad of Harvey Glatt, which can be heard below.
