MusiCounts could not be what it is today without the support of our donors, partners, and community. Music is what drives us all — whether you grew up with music, work in the industry, or are simply a music lover. That’s why every July, we spotlight a variety of people who make music education accessible for youth across Canada.

We chatted with Fernando Domingues, who has been a monthly donor since 2021.

Why do you give monthly, and what part of MusiCounts do you resonate with the most?

Music is a foundation that everyone should have. What resonates with me the most about MusiCounts is giving the opportunity of music to a lot of kids at an early age and having a community to meet friends and join bands.

Do you have a history with music? Are you a musician or do you work in the industry?

I started playing drums when I was about 18 years old. I don't know anything about the technical parts of music or reading sheet music; to me, it’s all by ear. I played with some friends and had very amateur rock bands just playing covers. We did some original songs, but we never took this seriously as a profession. We played some clubs, some bars, things like this. Everyone was studying and working, so this was just a side project we never made money from.

I have an engineering background, but to me, music is my true passion. I'm very much a music nerd. I have a vinyl collection.

Since I wasn't born in Canada and moved in 2018, I was just developing my career. Eventually, I had to quit playing to focus on my professional life, and I basically stopped playing for a long time. It's probably been 13 years since I last played. But I'm very eager now to try to find a time and place so I can have a drum kit again, or at least find a place or friends that I can play occasionally with.

My wife and I had our first son last year. Now that we are in a more stable financial condition, my goal in the near future is to try to get back to playing the drums and visiting MusiCounts to see how I can be more involved. I have started playing lots of music, like children’s music, for my son so he can have it at an early age. I won't force him to learn a particular instrument when he gets older, but he will definitely be doing a sport and playing an instrument.

Do you have any words of encouragement for people who want to get involved with MusiCounts?

Whether you are a music lover or not, supporting MusiCounts helps anyone who needs music at an early stage of their life and really wants to play some instruments, but perhaps they or their family doesn’t have the money to afford it. I would really encourage donating as an investment for the new generation.

Music is at the same level as sports, especially when developing a type of concentration that we normally don’t have with social media, where you get distracted easily. If you want to play music, you invest a lot of time in learning notes, chords, and everything.

*This interview was edited for clarity.