Welcome Back!!!

Welcome to a new school year! It is my great pleasure to invite you to join the Coalition for Music Education in Canada as we head into our 26th year! And what an exciting year we have planned!  From a new Music Monday Anthem year to the development of a resource guide,  supporting the a more formal structure for the Youth4Music program, as well as our Indigenous project Ngamwag Shkinweg, the Coalition is moving forward into a great future.  To stay up-to-date with all the exciting developments and announcements over the coming months, make sure you are signed up to receive this monthly newsletter and join us on our social media channels with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And don’t forget to check in on our newly branded website.

Additionally, please welcome two new staff members to the Coalition Team, Victoria Borg, Music Monday Program Assistant and Sharon Tikiryan, Youth4Music Program Assistant. Victoria and Sharon joined us in this past Spring and have quickly become valuable members of the Coalition Team.

Kindest Regards,

Patricia

Youth4Music Newsletter

In the spirit of promoting youth voices, we will be releasing a monthly Youth4Music newsletter, and we are thrilled to welcome Tom Davis (Youth4Music Vancouver Hub) and Kristen Thompson (Youth4Music Charlottetown Hub) as Editors-in-Chief! Tom and Kristen will be sharing news of local events from across the country in a monthly feature called “In Your Backyard,” as a way to connect youth from coast to coast to coast. The Youth4Music newsletter will also highlight the topic of music and mental health, and will introduce readers to the NUFSICISUM award winners through a series of interviews. Look out for the Youth4Music newsletter on the last Tuesday of each month, with the exception of December and June, when it will be released earlier. For access to news and articles about music from a youth perspective, become a subscriber by selecting “Join In” at www.youth4music.ca.

In Memoriam: Russell Stachiw

The Coalition for Music Education in Canada would like to pay tribute to the late Russell Stachiw, former Chair of the Board of Directors with the Coalition, and a true champion of music education.

Russell’s time with the Coalition followed a long and memorable career with the Toronto District Catholic School Board, where he worked for 36 years: first for 29 years as a beloved band teacher at Neil McNeil High school, and later as Supervisor of Instrumental Music for the school board. He was a member of The Canadian Band Association (Ont.) and a voting member of the Canadian Music Centre, in addition his involvement with TubaFest. Russell’s passion for music education made him a fierce advocate for the arts within the TDCSB. His son Peter remembers: “There was a time that Music and the Arts were at risk of being cut due to budget constraints, but my dad always advocated at board meetings the extreme importance of keeping these programs. This passion led him to the Coalition for Music Education in Canada.”

Russell was an early supporter of the Coalition, and as Chair he guided the organization through a period of major change and growth.  For his outstanding leadership and service, he was invested as an Honorary Life Member of Coalition in 2006. Jane Cutler, his colleague and another former Chair adds “I have fond memories of Russ - a warm and caring music educator who was a real leader in advocating for quality music education for all students.”

Read more. 

Welcome, Coalition Board Members!

The Coalition is thrilled to welcome three new Board Members to its Board of Directors. Each is a leader and innovative thinker for music and music education. We are pleased to have them join the Coalition team, and look forward to sharing more about our new Board Members in the coming months. This month we are introducing Coalition Board Member Tricia Howe living in Calgary, AB. Read more.

Youth4Music Video Series

On September 27th the Coalition is thrilled to launch the Youth4Music video series titled, “Music As…”, a virtual platform for youth by youth. This series is designed to give Youth4Music Ambassadors an opportunity to discuss the aspects of music that are important and meaningful to them, to highlight each of the Youth4Music Hubs, and to speak directly to Canadian youth about how they can get involved and make a difference in their communities. The first episode, “Music As… Education”, features the Youth4Music Kingston Hub, and includes interviews with Dr. Julia Brook, Assistant Professor of music education at Queen’s University, and student leader Emma Drinnan of the Queen’s University Student Music Educators’ Association. Be sure to tune in to new episodes on the last Thursday of each month!

Youth4Music Hubs: Get Involved!

Youth4Music is a program of the Coalition dedicated to empowering and connecting youth leaders from across Canada. With Hubs in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, Montreal, and Charlottetown, Youth4Music is truly a national program, bringing together young people who are passionate about music and building musical communities. Led by youth, for youth, through music, Youth4Music provides opportunities for youth leaders to enact positive change in their communities by planning and participating in a variety of events, such as leadership symposia and the annual Music Monday celebrations. For information on how to get involved with your local Youth4Music Hub, please contact Sharon Tikiryan, the Youth4Music Program Assistant, at youthcoordinator@musicmakesus.ca or visit www.youth4music.ca.

MusiCounts Band Aid Applications

Does your school have passionate students inspired by music, but not enough instruments to get the job done? The Band Aid Program applications from MusiCounts are now open! This incredible program provides schools across Canada with the opportunity to receive up to $15,000 in instrument funding for their schools. The application deadline is November 15th, 2018, with a special incentive for early bird applications submitted by October 17th. Click here for more information.

Wise Voices for Music Ontario

Wise Voices for Music is intended to provide a platform for discovery, and to coordinate the voices of advocates for learning music.  Working together, community events help coalesce our collective national voice for music education in Canada. Our goals are to learn from each other and to develop local action plans that will ensure learning music is integral to our schools and communities. Two virtual meetings and one in-person meeting held in Toronto, will be hosted during the month of October. Those interested may register online or contact info@musicmakesus.ca for more information.

Virtual Meetings

Tuesday, October 16 at 12:15pm EST

Friday, October 19 at 8:00am EST

In-Person Meeting

TBA

Thank you Erez!

This past summer we had a fabulous summer student join the Coalition for work on the Youth4Music program. Erez Zobary is a recent graduate of the Queen’s University undergraduate program and is continuing this Fall, studying toward a degree in education. Erez’s positive and easy going attitude mixed with excellent communication skills and passion for music, left a lasting impression on the Youth4Music program in our upcoming video series, “Music As …”. We are thankful for the tremendous work Erez has contributed for music advocacy and wish her all the very best this year. Click here for hear about Erez’s experience.

The Coalition has a brand new look!

While the Coalition for Music Education in Canada is still as passionate as ever about the importance of music education for children and youth, you may have noticed a few changes with how we’re showing this to the world. The Coalition has a brand new series of logos to reflect our major programming, a new website address, and social media handles to reflect the national vision of the organization’s mission. Over the coming months you’ll notice exciting updates, and we look forward to comments and feedback from you!

www.coalitioncanada.ca       (Launching on September 30th)

@coalitioncanada

Thank you • Merci • Miigwech • kinana'skomitina'wa'w

We are able to do all of this awesome work because of the support from many groups. For a full listing of this support go to Coalition, Youth4Music and Music Monday.