Podium 2018 – Mark your calendars for these important deadlines!
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.
ScotianAires concert “Music Speaks Louder Than Words”
The localXpress knows there is a good reason to be excited for April 1st this year…. The ScotianAires in concert with special guest Alison Crowe on Saturday, April 1 at 7pm at the Bella Rose Arts Centre in Halifax. It has been five years since singer-songwriter Crowe has been in Halifax and the ScotianAires are thrilled to have such an acclaimed artist as part of the evening of music. Check it out at https://www.localxpress.ca/local-arts-and-life/music-speaks-louder-than-words-for-scotianaires-565811 .
Singing the Circle
The 23rd International Kodaly Symposium will be held at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta from August 8 to August 12. World-renowned music educators from 14 countries will be offering active sessions focusing on every aspect of teaching music to children today. Delegates will be active – making music in workshops, daily communal canon singing, sight – reading new publications and and participating in singing games. There will be live concerts every day featuring a variety of choirs and artists.
Register Now For Sing Summer 2017
Spend a magical week with us making music under the majestic hemlocks of Berwick Camp. Bursaries are available for all three camps. We now also have family accommodation rates for Adult Choir Camp contact the office to find out more. Get more information or register here https://nscf.ca/programs/sing-summer-choir-camps/
Juvenata 2017 – Guest Conductor Scott Leithead & Special Guest Nelson Nagenda
For Choirs and Singers in grades 7-12
Registration for individual singers extended until April 21!
Sing Summer Staff Search
SEARCHING FOR SING SUMMER STAFF 2017!
Calling all accompanists, singers, teachers, conductors, artists!
Spend a week working with keen, enthusiastic singers. It’s fabulous professional development and a relaxing vacation time in an inspirational, heartwarming, magical environment.
Artistic and Musical Staff – (ACC, JCC and YCC)
Looking for: Accompanists, Vocal Health and Section Leaders, Activity Leaders (drama, art, dance etc.)
Please submit a cover letter and resume to tim@nscf.ns.ca
Caregiving Staff:
Looking for: JCC and YCC Camp Directors, YCC chaperones, JCC counsellors and JCC, YCC, and ACC Gophers!
Apply Now: Online Form – Click Here!
Hour by Hour – The Seeds of Xara’s Newest Show
by Claire Leger, Choreographer
“I can’t believe we weren’t friends before!!”
This was the excited exclamation from Ami McKay after our first creative meeting for what would become “The Hours Turn to Nothing”, Xara’s newest choral theatre project. Christina and I had been brainstorming different ideas for a show that would connect to the centenary of the Halifax Explosion. As Xara’s shows are often very female-centric, we started hunting for stories about women who lived or worked through the Explosion. Very quickly, we stumbled upon Ami McKay’s website, and a blog post she had written about midwives during the Explosion. We were already big fans of Ami and her first book “The Birth House,” where in Chapter 26, the female protagonist goes to Halifax to provide midwifery help to women in the aftermath.
We were shocked to discover from Ami’s blog that the impact of the blast caused many pregnant women in the surrounding area to go into spontaneous labour. We wondered what had happened to those women, those children, and the tireless people who must have worked hours on end to try and save them. And from there, the seeds of The Hours Turn to Nothing started to grow.
Our first creative meeting was actually a Skype phone call between Christina and I in Halifax and Ami in Scot’s Bay. As we chatted about the women whose stories had been long forgotten, and the music that could bring those stories to life, we got more and more excited. Ami also has a background in music history, theory, and musicology, another surprise for us to discover. That’s when we knew – we were destined to create a show together!
From those initial seeds has grown a work that we are so honoured to bring to life this spring. Featuring beautiful music, including a brand new commission from Xara’s own Jenny Trites and text derived from historical records and images, it is both powerful and hopeful. Stay tuned to our blog over the next few months for inside info on the show as it develops, straight from our singers, collaborators, and from Ami herself!
