April 27, 2006 -

OTTAWA—At 1 o’clock on Monday, May 1, if everyone stops what they are doing and listens, they just might hear it…

…the sound of hundreds of thousands of students across Canada, singing the very same song at the very same time.

The simultaneous performance across the country of “A Little Music” by Canadian songwriter Chris Tait will be the climax of Music Monday, the annual day that brings attention to the importance of music in schools.

Concerts will be held across Canada, with the heart of the day’s celebration taking place in the Foyer of the National Arts Centre, where a noon-hour concert will feature the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board Choir, Senator Tommy Banks, jazz legend Phil Nimmons, the Nepean All-City Jazz Band, Cadenza Strings, Baobab Youth Performers, vocal group Malaika, NAC Family and Youth Conductor Boris Brott and former Canadian Space Agency head Marc Garneau. The concert is open to the public and will link via broadband technology to the Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts in Edmonton AB and to students from la Polyvalente de Jonquière in Jonquiere, QC.

The song “A Little Music” was written especially for the occasion by Canadian composer Chris Tait, and has been scored in an assortment of English and French, vocal and instrumental arrangements so that everyone can participate. Teachers can download instructions from the Web at www.weallneedmusic.ca.

With “youth and education” as one of its top priorities, arts education is dear to the NAC’s heart. Each of its four disciplines—Music, English Theatre, French Theatre and Dance—reach out to young people across the country to support young artists, build young audiences and strengthen arts education.

Music Monday is organized by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. Founded in 1992, the coalition advocates for the contribution that music education makes in the lives of all Canadians, and that all children have quality program in music through their schools. The Coalition believes that music is key – in learning and in life.

The Coalition for Music Education would like to thank NAMM (International Music Products Association) for their financial support of Music Monday. Their vision and support for its goals help make Music Monday a reality for children, teachers, parents and music lovers across the country. The Coalition would also like to thank the Ontario Music Educators’ Association and the Canadian Music Industry Education Committee for their support of the NAC concert through the broadband connection to Edmonton, AB and Jonquière, QC, as well as for their continuing support.

For more information, please visit:

www.weallneedmusic.ca

www.coalitionpourmusiqueed.ca

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Information:
Mary Gordon, Communications Advisor
National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 524
mgordon@nac-cna.ca

Laurie Weir
Trillium Corporate Communications
(416) 322-3030 ext. 239