The President/CEO of The Recording Academy celebrates the GRAMMY's past and future

GRAMMY.com

Over the past 50 years, The Recording Academy has awarded 7,578 GRAMMYs. And tonight, we'll be handing out almost 400 more in 110 categories.

Fifty years of awarding excellence is an extraordinary milestone. A simple idea hatched in 1957 launched an academy that 50 years later serves as the preeminent organization for the entire creative community.

With 20,000 members, headquartered here in Los Angeles, and with Chapters located in 12 major music markets across the United States, The Academy delivers its missions 365 days every year.

We accomplish this by serving our members, bestowing honors and awards, and helping music people in need — any time, any place — through our MusiCares Foundation.

We are at the forefront of archiving and preserving our recorded history, and we are extremely proud to announce the opening of our GRAMMY Museum, right here in the heart of L.A.'s most exciting entertainment center. It'll be a fitting legacy to cap off our 50th celebration when the GRAMMY Museum opens late this year.

We advocate for the rights of our music community in Washington, D.C., and all across the country. This year, we will fight to pass legislation to once and for all ensure that, just like in every other developed country in the world, all music creators are compensated for their performances when played on traditional radio. And just as we support our own songwriters, we congratulate our fellow writers in the film and television world for winning fair compensation for their unique and creative contributions.

And what about our kids? We're proud that our GRAMMY Foundation fights to ensure the cultural necessity and vital right of every young person to experience music and the arts in our public schools.

Now tonight, we have an incredible example of how we've had a real impact on that proposition. In 2000, a then 12-year-old music student was invited to appear on the GRAMMY stage to show the meaning of music education.

Well, eight years later, he's a GRAMMY-nominated artist. Performing a composition of the late, great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, please welcome Eldar.

[The development of young artists such as Eldar is] why The Academy can proudly say, "the next 50 is right here!"

As we look forward to our future, we will never forget our past.