Every fall, CBC Music in association with MusiCounts — the charity of the Juno Awards — launches a contest to engage music classes across the country with Canadian music. It’s called The Canadian Music Class Challenge.
There are three goals to this project:
- We want kids to learn Canadian music in the classroom.
- We want to draw attention to the exceptional work music teachers are doing with children across the country.
- We want to reinforce the importance of music in a well-rounded education.
So how do we do this? Each year we pre-approve a list of Canadian songs, then ask music teachers to pick one and teach their classes a cover version. It could be a note-for-note cover, or you can make it something completely your own. Once a class performance of the song has been recorded on video, it gets uploaded to CBC Music. We post it on our YouTube channel, and three judges choose six winners. This year, the winner will receive $5,000 worth of instruments for the classroom, a gold record plaque plus a special "Passion Prize" of instruments from MusiCounts.
Sign up for the 2018 Canadian Music Class Challenge now.
Last year, hundreds of music classes enter from every province and territory in Canada took part.
What do we mean by 'music class'?
We mean everything from music clubs to after-school music programs to traditional school board programs from elementary school, junior high, and high school. We encourage teachers to enter the challenge no matter what the playing level of his or her class.
We want to help tell the story of your music class
Best of all, your class could be featured on CBC’s digital, radio and television platforms, showcasing how great the music program is in your school.
Want some more info?
To read the frequently asked questions, click here.
Registration for the 2018 Canadian is open now. Check out the rest of our key dates for more information on the Challenge.
For further information, please contact musicclass@cbc.ca.
More to explore:
Register now for the 2018 Canadian Music Class Challenge
2018 Canadian Music Class Challenge FAQs