The Monday Blues, the Monday Fog, Manic Mondays – there are countless ways to lament the end of the weekend and the beginning of a new work week. But today, students from across the country are singing a different tune.
Today is Music Monday, a day to celebrate the importance of music in everyday life and especially in our schools. More than 700,000 students from over 2,000 participating schools will raise their voices in a simultaneous nation-wide concert, demonstrating the incredible unifying power of music to transcend ethnicity, class, gender, even geography. Music classes from every province and territory in Canada are performing a rousing rendition of the song “Sing Sing” written by multi-Juno-Award-winning musician Serena Ryder. And such an event cannot be contained by school walls, these classes are also taking their project into their communities so every Canadian can experience this incredible experience.
Now in its sixth year, Music Monday is an annual event created by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, a national organization that aims to make music education available to every Canadian child. With Music Monday, the group hopes to emphasize the fact that the cultural vitality that comes from music begins in the classroom, and encourages parents, schools, and communities to protect and support music programs in schools, which frequently suffer from budget cutbacks. And the event has really hit a strong note since its start in 2005, inspiring similar events in the US, Australia, Britain and Hungary to “Fill the Skies With Music,” a new partnership with Ticketmaster Canada, who has already donated $40,000 to the cause and is providing ten $2,500 prizes to participating schools to fund their music programs.
It is well documented that an education in music is closely related to academic achievement in other classes, including “core” subjects like math and science. And the benefits of involvement in music can bring a child go even beyond the classroom.
“The benefits of music education go far beyond the classroom – music fosters imagination, creativity, discipline and achievement in our young people,” said Ingrid Whyte, Coalition for Music Education in Canada Executive Director. “The skills they learn through music and the arts in our classrooms today will help develop skills in an economy that is increasingly dependent on creativity.”
To “Sing Sing” in your own community, click here to view a complete list of events. Or simply open your door or window at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 11 a.m. Mountain time, 12 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Atlantic time and 2:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador to see if you can hear the sounds of change for yourself.
