From the wires:
TORONTO – Students across Canada will join together in song Monday, at an inaugural event spearheaded by a group promoting music education in schools. Elementary and secondary schools across the country are taking part in the first annual Music Monday, with the goal of drawing attention to the importance of learning about music.
More after the jump!
At 1 p.m. EDT, Boris Brott, the principal youth and family conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, will conduct a mass performance of the song A Little Music, which was written especially for the event by Canadian composer Chris Tait.
Videoconferencing will link Brott's approximately 350 players in Ottawa with student performers in Newfoundland and British Columbia, while students at schools in other locations will head outside for an al fresco concert at the exact same time.
"Schools from coast to coast will be united by one piece of music," said Ingrid Whyte, executive director of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, which organized the event. "We have a vision that you will be able to open your front door, stand on the street and hear the music filling the skies with melody."
Established in 1992, the coalition advocates the importance of providing music lessons for students. According to Whyte, "school music programs are on the endangered species list across Canada" and often threatened with cutbacks, cancellation or the removal of the music specialists leading the programs.
The drive has enlisted some well-known support, including Pinchas Zukerman, the National Arts Centre's music director, legendary rock producer Bob Ezrin %u2013 who produced Pink Floyd's The Wall %u2013 as well as rockers Alice Cooper, Kiss and Peter Gabriel.
Full Story: CBC Arts: Music Monday unites students in song
