MusiCounts honoured the inductees with the newly created MusiCounts Legacy Grants, presented by the Lewitt Family Foundation at the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (CMHF) induction ceremony in Calgary.

These grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded to six Canadian schools in honour of 2023 CMHF inductees Terri Clark, Diane Dufresne, Oliver Jones, Nickelback, Trooper and 2022 inductee Deborah Cox, to support school music programming in any approach or style. The MusiCounts Legacy Grants will help give students access to the many benefits of music education and can be used to purchase instruments, equipment, and resources to sustain existing programming or build new programs to better serve students’ needs.

“From helping kids access music education through MusiCounts to celebrating our country’s legends in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences believes in supporting artists at every stage of their career,” says Kristy Fletcher, President of MusiCounts. “The MusiCounts Legacy Grants, presented by the Lewitt Family Foundation, honour the recent Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees and pay it forward so kids across the country have a chance to make music. Congratulations to this year’s inductees!”

With the support of the Lewitt Family Foundation, the partnership will continue over the next three years, honouring each set of CHMF inductees and supporting CARAS’ mandate of preserving and enhancing the Canadian music industry, from inspiring students in the classroom to celebrating musical excellence on the national stage.

“The Lewitt Family Foundation supports MusiCounts so that kids in need have the opportunity to experience the power of music,” says John Lewitt from The Lewitt Family Foundation. “We’re so honoured to present the MusiCounts Legacy Grants in recognition of these iconic Canadian artists.”

MusiCounts receives hundreds of applications from school music programs across the country each year. The MusiCounts Legacy Grant recipient schools are be chosen from these school applicants in collaboration with the CMHF inductees. The schools honoured with these grants are:

• kisêwâtisiwin School, Edmonton, AB in honour of Terri Clark
• Qiqirtaq Ilihakvik, Gjoa Haven, NU in honour of Deborah Cox
• École Amédée-Boisvert, St-Albert, QC in honour of Diane Dufresne
• École St-Eugène Valleyfield, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC in honour of Oliver Jones
• Piitoayis Family School, Calgary, AB in honour of Nickelback
• Chan Kagha Otina Dakota Wayawa Tipi - Birdtail Sioux School, Beulah, MB in honour of Trooper