– For its 14th annual celebration of the power of music in our lives and especially in our schools, the Coalition for Music Education is hosting special Music Monday regional events all across Canada. From Vancouver, to Ottawa, to Sydney, hundreds of thousands of students, musicians, parents, community members and teachers will come together on Monday, May 7th to celebrate the unifying power of music and raise awareness for music education. Canada is a country rich in fabulous regional and cultural diversity. The Coalition for Music Education wants to showcase how schools and communities across Canada are uniquely able to demonstrate the importance of music in their classrooms, by celebrating how music lives where they do.

“This year’s Music Monday celebrations will coincide with the Coalition’s 25th birthday,” says Patricia Valenteyn, Managing Director for the Coalition for Music Education. “It’s an amazing milestone, and we want to celebrate it by thanking all the incredible music educators who have supported our work over the years. Isn’t it fantastic that once again, on the same day, at the same time, 12.30 p.m. EST, hundreds of thousands of Canadians will join their voices in their classrooms and communities to sing our Music Monday anthem “Sing it together”? This anniversary represents something special, and our hope is to make this Music Monday one of the best ever!”

Though celebrations will take place from coast to coast to coast all across the country, the Coalition for Music Education will be hosting and supporting six Music Monday special regional events in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Charlottetown. Youth4Music Ambassadors from the Coalition’s Youth4Music network – a program dedicated to Canadian youth inspiring and building through music – will help coordinate and support these events. Working along the Coalition’s staff, Board members and facilitators, the youth will help organize and document the nation-wide celebrations, recording live videos, writing blog articles and sharing highlights of the events on social media.

This year’s Music Monday regional celebrations will include:

VANCOUVER

The Coalition for Music Education in BC plans a free public concert at the Vancouver Art Gallery/Robson Square with an ensemble of Metro Vancouver elementary and secondary music students. The event will include a mass performance led by esteemed conductor and music education supporter Gerald King from the University of Victoria, as well as involvement from the Vancouver Opera Company. Tarun Nayar from Delhi 2 Dublin will be the host/emcee. Over 200 local music students are scheduled to perform.  It’s going to be a fun and musical celebration!

CALGARY

Calgary is getting ready for the city’s best Music Monday yet at the National Music Centre Performance Hall! With live performances by local musicians and messages from special guests, the celebration with be co-hosted by Youth4Music Ambassador and musician, Kate Stevens and Coalition Board Member, Scott Morin. The event will include a student audience who will “Sing It Together” with the rest of Canada for the importance of music!

WINNIPEG

Winnipeg’s meeting place, The Forks, will once again host a Music Monday celebration featuring students from the Nelson McIntyre Collegiate Family of Schools and other guests. The performances will take place under the canopy outside of the Forks Market. Everyone is welcome to attend this exciting event. The concert will begin at 11:30 a.m.

May 7th will see the kick off concert to Music Month in Manitoba, as declared by the Minister of Education. The Manitoba Music Educators’ Association and the Manitoba Department of Education and Training will collaborate to create a public concert series on the grand staircase of the Manitoba Legislative Building. Throughout the month of May, students from 20 schools will perform in this majestic space for members of the government and the public.

OTTAWA

Ottawa will include over 500 students in their Music Monday celebration at the National Arts Centre. This incredible day of music will begin with a ‘Sing It Together’ workshop hosted by choral conductor Jackie Hawley. The day continues with a variety of special guests including members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra who will give a musical performance, and Mayor Jim Watson who will make an exciting announcement! The Youth4Music Ottawa Hub will provide messages on behalf of youth music advocates, as well as host a special masterclass with members of the TSO later in the day.

MONTREAL

To celebrate Music Monday 2018, in Montreal, the Coalition is inviting schools and communities to take part in a unique event that will be held on Monday, May 7th at the city’s well-renowned Place des Arts. The festivities will take place from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. at the Espace culturel Georges-Émile Lapalme, and will be coordinated by the Coalition’s Youth4Music Montreal Hub, in partnership with UQAM and FAMEQ. This year’s program will comprise musical performances, special guest speakers, special presentations, and much more. The celebrations will culminate with a sing-along of the Music Monday anthem, “Sing It Together”, which was commissioned by the Coalition for Music Education and co-written by award-winning songwriters Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas to celebrate Canada’s diverse musical heritage. Music Monday is a free event, and food and light snacks will be available for all the participants.

SYDNEY

This year’s East Coast event will take place in Sydney, NS and involve many schools from elementary to high school. Hosted at Open Hearth Park, a public park located in the city of Sydney, the day will include the Glace Bay High School Marking Band, the Eskasoni High School choir, and a mass choral singing of the Music Monday Anthem, “Sing It Together”.

 

For more information about Music Monday, or to register a Music Monday celebration, please visit www.musicmonday.ca or send a message to info@musicmakesus.ca

Music Monday is made possible with the generous support of the Government of Canada, TD Bank Group, The NAMM Foundation, the SOCAN Foundation as well as support from Yamaha Canada Music Inc., Long and McQuade and all of our partner organizations.  For a full list of sponsors please visit http://www.musicmonday.ca/sponsors/

ABOUT MUSIC MONDAY

Music Monday is a signature program of the Coalition for Music Education.  It is Canada’s nationwide celebration of the power of music in our lives and especially in our schools.  The first Monday in May (this year, Monday May 7, 2018) music makers of all generations and genres gather in their schools and communities to make music, and, at the same time during the day, they join their voices for a simultaneous sing-along of the Music Monday anthem. Fore more information: www.musicmonday.ca

ABOUT YOUTH4MUSIC

Youth4Music is a program dedicated to Canadian youth inspiring and building through music. Through the creation of regional, provincial, and national teams, youth leaders are empowered to collaborate in the development of projects that raise the awareness of the benefits of music in our lives. Youth4Music is a program of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. Led by youth, for youth, through music. For more information: www.youth4music.ca

ABOUT THE COALITION FOR MUSIC EDUCATION IN CANADA

The Coalition for Music Education in Canada is an organization made up of parents, students, educators, and business people from varying walks of life who support school music programs and highlight the importance of music education for all young people in Canada. For more information: www.musicmakesus.ca