MUSIC MONDAY CELEBRATIONS EXPECTED TO ENGAGE THOUSANDS OF MUSIC MAKERS IN CANADA’S LARGEST SIMULTANEOUS SING-ALONG
13th Annual Music Monday will be led by National Showcase Concert at National Arts Centre, Ottawa!
For Immediate Release, April 6, 2017 (Toronto, Canada) – On Monday, May 1st, thousands of students, musicians, parents and community members across the country will sing together creating the world’s largest single event dedicated to raising awareness for music education. A testament to the unifying power of music, from coast to coast to coast the nation comes together each year with the simultaneous singing of the Music Monday anthem. The 13th annual Music Monday celebration introduces Sing It Together, a new anthem co-written by multiple award-winning songwriters Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas. Sing It Together invites all Canadians to join in singing for joy, for truth, for healing, for life and for freedom.
In honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial, this year’s annual National Showcase Concert takes place in Ottawa. The concert, which is free to the public, will be held at the National Arts Centre and live-streamed through the Music Monday website on May 1 from 12 to 1 p.m.
“Music is the heartbeat of Canada, a vibrant part of the fabric of our country’s heritage,” says Holly Nimmons, Executive Director of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. “For many Canadians, particularly the thousands of students and teachers who participate each year, Music Monday celebrates that legacy. So with this in mind, we were inspired by Canada’s 150th Anniversary to create a special program, imagery and an anthem that spotlights the diverse facets of how Canadians enjoy music in their lives.”
The only nationwide celebration of music that actively engages children and youth in their schools and communities, Music Monday will be observed in many ways across the country – in school classrooms, special school assemblies, group concerts of area schools, concerts of community bands and choirs with special events being planned in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Brandon, Scarborough, Montreal, St. John’s, and with a day-long event in Charlottetown, the birthplace of confederation.
Hosted by opera superstar Measha Brueggergosman and Seamus O’Regan, MP, the National Showcase Concert in Ottawa includes performances of “Song of Life” by Métis songwriter Susan Scofield, a mass children’s choir, the Métis Fiddle Quartet, singer-songwriter Mimi O’Bonsawin, a harp and operatic soprano duo, youth jazz and strings ensembles, and the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra. Songwriter Marc Jordan, musicians from the official Music Monday video and a mass children’s choir will lead the nationwide sing-along of Sing It Together.
The National Showcase Concert will also premiere a unique Indigenous Drumming Video by Cole Forrest, a North Bay ON hip-hop artist. The video features a compilation of young indigenous drummers from across Canada with spoken word. Cole is the recipient of the 2016 James Bartelman Aboriginal Creating Writing Award and an ambassador for Youth4Music, a network of youth leaders who believe that music transforms lives and who want to make a difference for Canada through music.
The new Music Monday anthem Sing It Together was commissioned by the Coalition for Music Education. The recording and official music video feature Inuit throat singing, Métis fiddling, indigenous drumming, and children’s choirs in celebration of Canadian musical heritages. To view the four-minute video, go to www.musicmonday.ca.
Prospective participants can access translations and arrangements of Sing It Together at www.musicmonday.ca, as well as access a recording and official music video featuring Inuit throat singing, Métis fiddling, indigenous drumming, and children’s choirs in celebration of Canadian musical heritages. Sing It Together is available in various languages, including French, Gaelic, Ojibwa, Michiff, Sign Language, Spanish, Tagalog and more. Various choral and instrumental arrangements include Strings, Recorder, Ukulele, Jazz Ensemble, Guitar, and more.
Music Monday is made possible with the generous support of the Government of Canada, TD Bank Group, and the NAMM Foundation as well as Titanium level 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/
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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, especially our schools. Music Monday is the only national celebration of music education that actively engages children and youth in their schools and communities. The first Monday in May (this year, May 1, 2017) music makers of all generations and genres gather in their schools and communities to make music, and at the same time during the day we join with one voice, by singing the official Music Monday anthem or a simultaneous nation-wide sing-along.
ABOUT YOUTH4MUSIC
Youth4Music is a network of youth who are passionate about music in their lives – learning, appreciating, creating and making music. Youth4Music provides a platform for youth voices, and leadership opportunities for youth to make a difference for music in their schools and communities. The program is “for youth – by youth – through music.” More info: www.youth4music.ca
ABOUT THE COALITION FOR MUSIC EDUCATION
Music Monday is an annual initiative of The Coalition for Music Education, 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. More info: www.musicmakesus.ca
ABOUT CANADIAN HERITAGE FUNDING
The Government of Canada is providing funding of $80,000 to The Coalition for Music Education for Youth4Music through the Youth Take Charge program (Canada.ca/youth-take-charge) of the Department of Canadian Heritage. This project allows more than 300,000 young people aged 7 to 30 from across Canada to take part in music-related events in 2017–2018. By supporting youth engagement through music, the Government of Canada provides opportunities for young Canadians to become involved in a range of activities designed to strengthen their attachment to Canada through active commitment in their communities.