April 30, 2015 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre in partnership with the Coalition for Music Education in Canada will celebrate Music Monday with a live showcase concert and broadband connection with students from Nunavut’s Inuksuk High School. Approximately 500 local students in the NAC Foyer will join hundreds of thousands of children singing across the country in celebration of music education at 12:30 p.m. on May 4, 2015. 

Hosted by CBC Radio host Robyn Bresnahan and Youth4Music leader Malcolm Horava, this free public event will also feature Ottawa singer-songwriter Jill Zmud, award-winning virtuoso violinist Kerson Leong, dancers and singers from école Michaëlle-Jean. MP Kellie Leitch will be on hand to lend an official stamp on the celebrations.

Deputy Mayor Mark Taylor will proclaim May 4, 2015 to be Music Monday in Ottawa. This marks the 11th year that the National Arts Centre will join the Coalition for Music Education along with hundreds of thousands of community members in the National Capital Region and across the country in a nation-wide sing-along which highlights the importance of learning music for young people in Canada.

Thanks to a live broadband internet connection, students from Inuksuk High School in Nunavut and the Chamber Choir of the Ottawa Children's Choir will connect on Music Monday at the NAC. The Music Monday Official Anthem We Are One/Nous Sommes Unis will be sung by the NAC massed choir in three languages – English, French and Inuktitut. Commissioned by the Coalition for Music Education, the song was written by high school student Connor Ross from Bolton, Ontario.

The NAC’s Music Monday massed choir includes children from local elementary and secondary schools as well as youth choirs to perform alongside the Cantiamo Girls Choir, the Cantiamo Training Choir and the Ottawa Children’s Choir under the direction of Robert Filion. Participating choirs include: Avalon Public School, Blossom Park Public School, Holy Spirit Catholic School, Sacred Heart Catholic High School, St Francis of Assisi Catholic School, St Rita Elementary Catholic School, école élémentaire publique Séraphin Marion, école élémentaire publique Michaëlle-Jean and école secondaire publique De la Salle.

Music Monday is an annual event organized by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, a national advocacy organization that for 20 years has represented educators, parents, music lovers, industry – and most of all students – to promote and protect quality music programs in schools. Music Monday is the world’s largest single event dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of music education and has inspired similar initiatives in the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and Hungary. For more information, please visit musicmonday.ca.

Music Monday is made possible in part by support from the Friends of the NAC Orchestra and the individual and corporate donors of the National Youth and Education Trust, the primary resource for youth and education funding at the National Arts Centre. The NAC is proud to partner with the Coalition for Music Education in Canada for this event. The videoconference connection to the National Arts Centre is made possible by the NAC's distance learning studio, Hexagon.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre collaborates with artists and arts organizations across Canada to help create a national stage for the performing arts, and acts as a catalyst for performance, creation and learning across the country. A home for Canada’s most creative artists, the NAC strives to be artistically adventurous in each of its programming streams – the NAC Orchestra, English Theatre, French Theatre and Dance, as well as the Scene festivals and NAC Presents, which showcase established and emerging Canadian artists. The organization is at the forefront of youth and educational activities, offering artist training, programs for children and youth, and resources for teachers in communities across Canada. The NAC is also a pioneer in new media, using technology to teach students and young artists around the globe, by creating top-rated podcasts, and providing a wide range of NAC Orchestra concerts on demand. The NAC is the only bilingual, multidisciplinary performing arts centre in Canada, and one of the largest in the world.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mary Gordon
National Editor
National Arts Centre
mary.gordon@nac-cna.ca
(613) 947-7000, ext. 849