At A Glance

What is Music Monday?

Music Monday is an annual event that brings together thousands of students, musicians, parents and community members across the country to celebrate the gift of music in our lives, on the same day at the same time. Always on the first Monday of May, this year Music Monday happens on Monday, May 3rd, 2010. The goal of the event is to simultaneously fill the skies with music as a reminder to all of the importance of music in our schools and in our lives. Each year, the country is galvanized around the performance of a song. In 2009, Canada will once again rally around Serena Ryder’s energetic song, Sing Sing and a new song will be introduced for 2011.

The Coalition for Music Education in Canada launched Music Monday in 2005. What began as a dream more than five years ago has now inspired Music Monday initiatives in the United States, UK, Australia and Hungary!

Who Participates?

Music Monday 2009 impacted over 700,000 participants from coast to coast! In addition to students, teachers and parents, we had community groups, local businesses, professional symphonies, and even local politicians all showing their love for music in their lives. Participation is open to everyone who wants to share their voice. And everything you need is available for FREE on our website: demos, arrangements and more. We urge participants to register on our website. In 2009, over 2000 schools and organizations across the country registered with many more involved beyond that.

Why Music Monday?

Our most important goal with Music Monday is to celebrate the galvanizing power of music in Canada and demonstrate how that power is rooted in school music programs. We are creating an event that can be used as a platform to inspire public celebration, awareness and discussion every year. We want to provide a tangible demonstration of how music programs shape young lives and the fun young people have in making music.

This is the time for students, teachers and everyone to unite with their communities to show their love of music in their schools and in their lives

We want to show the important links between school music programs, their communities and the cultural vitality of this country. And finally, it is our hope that the public, particularly parents, are encouraged to actively support quality music education, and that our administrators will make the right decisions for our children and education - an education that includes music as a pillar to a well-balanced educational experience.

Highlights from Music Monday 2009

• Elora Public School’s event included the participation of the entire school (640 JK-8 students), many parents, local church choirs, the high school band and choir, local teachers’ federation, SOCAN representative, MP and MPP. They even booked a plane to take pictures of participants arranged in the formation of the word, “SING!” which was sent to the local paper.
• Over 1000 students from Saskatoon school band programs performed in the Saskatoon Soccer Centre.
• A number of public schools in Winnipeg got together and had different ensembles playing on street corners along Portage Ave. throughout the downtown core.
• Several schools along with the Ottawa Children’s Choir participated in a huge concert held by The National Arts Centre on the front steps of the Parliament Buildings under the baton of Boris Brott
• Brass players from the Winnipeg Symphony performed on Portage Avenue, and the entire WSO was highlighted on different aspects of CBC’s Music Monday coverage.
• The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed a concert with students at City Hall.
• Symphony Nova Scotia with the support of the Halifax Regional Municipality performed a free concert in conjunction with student performances.

Media Coverage

Media coverage increases dramatically each year. In 2009, we recorded over 35 million media impressions through national and local television, radio and print, including quality stories on all the national television newscasts. Our partnership with CBC Radio generated even more coverage and engagement as shows throughout the day celebrated Music Monday with programming on music, children and education.

Music Monday has created an enormous amount of traffic on our website welcoming over 350,000 visitors in 2009 alone! With an ever growing facebook fan page: facebook.com/musicmondaycanada and our newly launched You Tube channel at youtube.com/musicmondaycanada, we expect to see even more activity this year!

About the Organizers: The Coalition for Music Education in Canada

The Coalition for Music Education in Canada advocates for the contribution that music education makes in the lives of all Canadians. We believe that music is key – in learning and in life. It is our goal is to see that all children have a quality program in music through their schools. For more information and resources in support of quality music education, please visit our website at: www.weallneedmusic.ca.

Please visit www.musicmonday.ca for a complete listing of Music Monday events in your local area.