Share the Music is the name of an arts and education outreach program presented by the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. With a mission statement aimed at sharing music with young people of all backgrounds from ages 8 to 18, the program’s goal is to enhance and broaden musical horizons by exposing students to world-class performers.

Share the Music’s 16th season includes nine wide-ranging concerts from October to May, any of which could proudly serve as a definition for “world-class.” To experience any of the artists in this varied lineup will be a musical life-enhancing opportunity never to be forgotten.

Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet joins conductor Vadimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic in the lead-off concert of works by two 20th-century icons, Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Divine Brown, Diana Braithwaite, Andria Simone and Shakura S’Aida headline the Toronto Blues Society’s 28th Annual Toronto Women’s Blues Revue November 22, while the incomparable Itzhak Perlman will work his fiddle magic on the audience December 1.

A concert by the iconic Blind Boys of Alabama December 8 is followed by a Classic Albums Live presentation of “The Beatles: Let It Be” January 20. Next up will be the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis February 11.

The Canadian poet and spoken word artist Shane Koyczan became an overnight sensation at the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. His anti-bullying video To This Day has had more than 13 million views on YouTube and led to an appearance at the 2013 TED Conference. He will appear at Harbourfront Centre April 7.

Evgeny Kissin’s remarkable pianism will be on display in his May 1 recital which includes Beethoven’s “Waldstein” sonata, nocturnes and mazurkas by Chopin and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.15. The no-less-remarkable Bobby McFerrin will showcase his prodigious vocal gifts May 30.

Each event is preceded by a talk or workshop, some of which are of particular interest. Tafelmusik violinist Patricia Ahern will discuss repertoire in advance of the Perlman recital; Toronto Mass Choir director Karen Burke leads a gospel-style workshop the night the Blind Boys of Alabama perform; and the Heavyweights Brass Band takes part in a workshop before the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis concert. 

Ask any group of musicians what something like “music education” comprises and you’d certainly receive a vast array of responses about everything from études to instrument maintenance. However, an entire area of a performer’s “musical life” – and one that is receiving growing attention in both private studio and public settings – involves looking after that one instrument that cannot be replaced or upgraded – the artist’s physical self.

The Artists’ Health Alliance (formerly the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation) is one such organization in the business of educating artists, including performing musicians, about the maintenance of physical and mental wellness throughout an artistic career. A not-for-profit charitable group working in partnership with the Al & Malka Green Artists’ Health Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, the AHA hosts workshops addressing issues from injury prevention to stress management to nutrition. Likening their work to the type of specialized treatment that professional athletes require, the AHA serves as a helpful resource for performers seeking health education (or treatment) that takes into account their unique career-based needs.

Considering the specialized nature of this often-costly type of treatment, the organization is also dedicated to providing artists access to financial resources, including details about available subsidies and cost-effective healthcare coverage. The AHA also advocates a school outreach program, through which they have run workshops at schools such as OCADU, the Randolph Academy, U of T and York University.

Navigating the question of how to live healthy is a lifelong process, and not one unique to arts workers. However, the enormous set of physical and mental challenges that performing musicians can face is something that does deserve ample attention. Though health education opportunities for professional musicians often seem to fly under the radar, a service that allows performers to continue doing what they love for as long as possible is certainly not one to be under-valued.

The next event on the Artist Health Alliance’s calendar is a series of workshops on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, running most Tuesdays from September 23 to November 25. For those interested, more information about this series and on the AHA is available at artistshealth.com. 

It is no secret that governments and educational bureaucracies for many years now have been resorting to the reduction and even elimination of music programs in order to cut costs in a way that is not perceived by the general public as weakening public education. At the same time there is an ever-growing abundance of research indicating enormous benefits to school-age students from active participation in music study and performance. These facts notwithstanding, the gulf, between the incontrovertible evidence as to the benefits of participation in music and the perceptions and understanding of the general public, politicians and education bureaucrats, continues to widen.

By the early 1990s educational programs nationwide were becoming so threatened that in 1992 representatives of 20 organizations came together to share ideas to improve the state of music education in Canada and form the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. It quickly began working with parents and other concerned citizens to address concerns about music in schools.

Late in April I spoke to Holly Nimmons, executive director of the Coalition for Music Education, beginning by asking why education system bureaucrats and politicians continue to fly in the face of the evidence for the value of music as part of education.

Typically, she said, the erosion or elimination of school music programs is done as a way of saving money and balancing the budget. It is a short-term, stop-gap solution which has long-term consequences in the lives of students. Music programs transform lives, but at the same time, have no measurable cash value. Because the learning of music and musical skills is sequential, reducing or eliminating the learning of music at one stage of education makes it difficult or impossible to pick it up later, effectively putting an end to the life-transforming effects that could have been possible for the students affected by these program cuts.

Part of the disconnect between the research and the actual “delivery of programs,” Nimmons suggested, may originate in the misconception that the raison d’être of music programs is to produce professional musicians, when their real purpose is to produce, in a way that no other discipline can, creative problem solvers with highly developed analytical, verbal and mathematical skills.

So there appears to be not only a wall of ignorance but also chronic misunderstanding of the role and purpose of music in education, which together allow for its being perceived as so specialized as to be irrelevant - or at least non-essential - to the education of the rising generation.

How, I asked, does the Coalition go about advocating for music education in the face of this situation?

“Education of the public is the central task,” she says. So the Coalition conducts research on the state of music education, makes its message available to people on its website, and connects with other organizations which share its objectives, such as MusiCounts, Music Canada and others.

A recent example of this sort of collaboration was a statement released jointly just weeks ago by the Coalition, MusiCounts and Music Canada, encouraging the Vancouver Board of Education to reconsider a decision to eliminate certain instrumental music programs. That decision, Nimmons told me, has already been reversed.

One such major annual initiative, central to the Coalition’s mission, will take place this year on Monday, May 5. This is the annual Music Monday Celebration. Launched in 2005 by the Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday is the world’s largest single event dedicated to raising awareness of music education.

Nimmons was quick to point out that the event raises awareness, excitement and commitment to music education at both the national and the local level. Nationally there will be a webcast, available live at noon, EDT, but the focus of the webcast will be the regional events in ten cities across Canada from Gander to Whitehorse, representing music education from each region. This live showcase will include performances by school groups and local musicians, messages from prominent Canadian musicians, politicians and leaders, and inspiration and encouragement from local youth, parents and industry advocates.

Some very influential voices will be heard supporting the cause, such as David Suzuki and Col. Chris Hadfield, the former commander of the International Space Station. In fact, Hadfield participated in last year’s Music Monday from the International Space Station, singing “I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing),” which he co-wrote with Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson. This year’s event will conclude with a synchronized nationwide performance of I.S.S. with Chris Hadfield, now back on planet Earth, participating, and led by Bramwell Tovey, the conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

The initiative has also attracted considerable financial support from many different sources, not the least of which is TD Bank, which has donated in excess of $50,000 to this year’s Music Monday. With a proven track record of support for music and for community-building initiatives, Nimmons told me, TD has been a supporter of the Coalition in the past, but this year’s contribution is particularly significant.

“Music Monday will celebrate the best in music education, showing what is possible,” Nimmons says, “not only for those schools currently fortunate enough to have excellent music programs but also for those schools that are less fortunate.” The aim is to motivate people everywhere to take action to support the implementation of effective music education programs in the province or territory in which they live.

The long-term goal of the Coalition, Nimmons points out, is to build a critical mass of people who recognize the value of music education in the public elementary and secondary schools. A central focus of this goal is the engagement of young people, the voters, leaders and decision-makers of tomorrow. With a million participants in last year’s Music Monday and, with any luck, even more this year, the Coalition is well on its way to achieving what it has set out to do.

So, wherever you are at noon on Monday, May 5, whether it be at the office, at home or at school, go to musicmonday.ca and follow the link to the webcast. We can all begin to support the much-needed revitalization of music education, simply by connecting with others who share our conviction. 

Co-founder of The WholeNote, flutist and music teacher Allan Pulker can be reached at allan@thewholenote.com

Even with opportunities for unguided self-teaching proliferating through the internet, music remains largely an oral tradition, handed down directly from teacher to student and consisting largely of showing students how to teach themselves, which is done by what is usually called practising, and which I like to call guided self-teaching.

When a student studies music by taking lessons with a teacher, the effectiveness of the lessons – gauged by how well the student progresses – depends on two things: the receptivity of the student and his/her ability to attempt and then to master the things that the teacher recommends; and the teacher’s ability to assess what the student is able to do and not do, and to recommend techniques and skills to practise in the time between lessons. The fit between teacher and student therefore becomes a more important criterion than anything else in determining whether learning music becomes a rewarding experience.

With this month’s launch of The WholeNote’s online ORANGE PAGES searchable directory we are taking the first steps towards helping music students and would-be students find that perfect match. Already over 145 teachers, community music schools and summer music programs have filled out the online questionnaire that enables them to be found through our ORANGE PAGES, with more signing up every day.

All that being said, we are under no illusions that we have suddenly become the only, or even the primary way for this crucial matchmaking to take place. The search for and finding of a musical mentor comes in many forms, as the following three short descriptions of existing education-related musical resources show.

Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association: The Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (ORMTA) was established in 1936 to establish high standards of private music instruction in Ontario. I spoke to Etobicoke-Mississauga branch president Virginia Taylor, about ORMTA’s contribution to music education: “ORMTA,”  she told me, “provides a superior level of teaching, which ensures parents and students alike of a studio experience that is of the highest quality.” Membership requires not only a good musical education but also evidence of effective teaching. In other words, members must have done some teaching before becoming members of ORMTA. Once a member, however, “ORMTA gives a teacher the advantage of continuing education and learning by attending the many workshops, master classes and conferences offered through the organization.”

ORMTA also offers student assessments, by which, Virginia told me “students are able to have their work audited by another professional, which…gives [them] an unbiased opinion of their performance.”

She also raised another very interesting benefit. Anyone who has taught, whether in the school system or privately, has to be very aware that one of the occupational hazards of the business is the lack of contact with one’s peers. ORMTA, Virginia pointed out, in organizing workshops and conferences, also provides camaraderie through contact with other music teachers, and also “a forum for bouncing off teaching questions.”

ORMTA encourages non-members to join. Everything you need to know about joining the organization is on their website. “Our workshops,” she told me “are open to non-members, and we encourage teachers who are not ORMTA members to participate in them. ORMTA has given my teaching life excellence and much meaning, and also my personal life, as I have colleagues with whom I am constantly in touch, andwho share the same life that I do. Their ideas and advice I greatly treasure.”

Mooredale Youth Orchestras: An opportunity available to students once they are at grade four level and beyond, is the three Mooredale youth orchestras, which were started back in 1986 by the late Kristine Bogyo so that her two sons, one of whom played the violin, the other, the cello, would be able to play in an orchestra.

I spoke recently to William Rowson, who became the conductor of the Junior and Senior Orchestras in 2008. We began by talking about the benefits of participating in the Mooredale program. Although some of the orchestra’s alumni, he told me, become professional musicians, it is not so much about producing professionals as it is about realizing what is possible. “I challenge them, and at first they are overwhelmed, but then they go on to work out how and what they need to practise and how to make use of their time.” Young people, he said, “are up for challenges, they want to be great, and if you show them what is possible and how to achieve it, they will achieve.”

One of the challenges Rowson brings is to treat his orchestra members like professionals in the sense that he expects them to come to rehearsals with their parts learned; it can be necessary to work on certain passages with only one section. To keep the rehearsal flowing and to keep the other sections actively involved he asks them to listen, to see if they can hear how it could be better, to hear where the phrases are going and to be able to articulate the character of the piece.

While much of the orchestras’ repertoire is standard – everything from early Haydn to Warlock’s Capriole Suite – it does also work in a certain amount of contemporary music. Rowson, who has a PhD in composition, has written works for his orchestras, and contemporary composers are invited to bring works for the orchestras to read through.

Regardless of what music the orchestras are working on, the aim is always to give the experience to the members of working through difficulty to make things possible.

 Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario:The Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario (CIS Ontario) is an association of schools which are not publicly funded and which meet a number of rigorous criteria. I chatted with Jan Campbell, the executive director of the association about the place of music in the independent schools. While there is no common consensus or policy about the place of music in education, there is, she told me, huge value placed on student programs outside of the academic programs.

One of the products of this commitment will be the Conference of Independent Schools Music Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on April 13. Over 40 of the 44 member schools will be participating in this major collaborative effort, each having prepared for months in advance to achieve a high level of musicianship and artistry. Choirs, orchestras and bands will all perform, and the grand finale will be a massed choir and orchestra spectacular.

Just as with the Mooredale Orchestras, this event provides great motivation and inspiration for students and teachers alike as well as an opportunity to meet many new people and colleagues.

The event is close to sold out but tickets will be available for the dress rehearsal. Please see the ad on page 69 for details.

Back in 1995 when we started The WholeNote, or Pulse as it first was called, it was certainly possible to find out about the many concerts going on in our city. All you had to do was go to concert venues and pick up brochures, read and take notes on posters in places like the Edward Johnson Building, filch flyers from church and laundromat bulletin boards, and so on.  Point was, it was so much work, that no one did it, and literally hundreds of concerts went unnoticed every season.

The idea of a monthly guide to concerts was new, radical and untested; and while we obviously liked the idea enough to dive in and do it, even we did not realize just how much music was going on in our city. By the spring of 1996, much to our amazement we were listing about 160 concerts a month, about half of what we list now. We had made it possible for potential audience members to know much more about what was going on — to actually find out in time aboutconcerts and performers and repertoire that would be of interest.

The Educational Parallel: Consider the parallels between the world of concerts and recitals and the world of music teachers, music schools and education programs. There are more than ever of both; all, especially with the help of the internet, can be found. But how do you sort, compare, arrange? What if there is a perfect teacher for you or your offspring, but he or she just didn’t come up in your search?

Just as there was a great desire among audiences for a comprehensive source of information on upcoming concerts, so also, we think, there is a desire among people wanting to learn music for comprehensive information on educators and programs.

We made it possible right from the start, almost 20 years ago, for presenters of live music to list what they were doing free of charge so that audiences could be confident they were getting the whole story, not just the money story.

Now we are offering educators the same opportunity— not in print, but in media which did not exist when we started The WholeNote —media which give anyone interested in studying music, from beginner to professional, casual to committed, the means to search, sift, sort and select the teacher or program that is right for them.

So what will it take? To start, about ten minutes from any teacher reading this who can see the potential benefits of being found this way; just ten minutes, to follow the instructions at the bottom of this article and fill out a simple questionnaire.

Think about it. All those wretched posters with tear-offs along the bottom, taping them to lamp posts, only to find them torn off two days later, suddenly as passé as the passenger pigeon!

Just as it was with the presenters in our concert listings, all you, the teacher, have to do is announce your presence. There is an audience out there hungry for information.

Allan Pulker, co-founder of The WholeNote, plays and teaches flute and recorder. You can contact him at allan@thewholenote.com.