As Canada’s national music education charity, not only do we provide music classes and programs across the country with musical instruments, resources, and equipment — but we connect and build relationships with those who value music education as much as we do.

Lately, MusiCounts has been out and about, travelling to Ottawa, Windsor, Yellowknife, London, and Vancouver to meet with our schools, communities, students and music educators.

It’s donated Aeroplan points that make it possible for MusiCounts to reach all corners of the country with the music that brings us together.

Help us connect with more schools and engage with the people we impact by donating Aeroplan points at musicounts.ca/aeroplan

Firstly, our team took a quick trip to Ottawa to visit Ottawa Innercity Ministries. Their music room transformed from a tight corner of their building, to a more vibrant area with a proper storage for their guitars and new instruments. Learn more about the program leader Jordan and the music program for street-involved youth here:

Then we headed over to Norman Johnston Secondary Alternate School. Students and alumni participated in a workshop with JUNO-nominated singer/songwriter Tyler Shaw, where he answered some of their burning questions, performed a couple of his songs, and facilitated a wholesome songwriting exercise. Watch a recap of this special day, including a sneak-peek at the results of the workshop:

Just shortly after Ottawa, we spent the day in Windsor with our partner Waypoint Convenience to meet the teachers and kids at Ford City Public School. The Waypoint Convenience team was super thrilled to be back in the music classroom and gifted the students Waypoint bags filled with snacks and goodies. Watch the video here:

Up next, MusiCounts headed up to the Northwest Territories with our partner Anthem Entertainment! In Yellowknife, we reunited with our 2024 MusiCounts Teacher of the Year, Stephen Richardson, and visited his school. There, both MusiCounts and Anthem Entertainment facilitated workshops for students on careers in the music industry and engaged with music organizations and artists in the city. Watch the video here:

Other than school visits, MusiCounts was able to have the opportunity to speak and attend a few music education association conferences (MEA) in Canada. Our team held panels in both Vancouver, BC for the BCMEA and London, ON for the OMEA, and attended the SMEA virtually. Sherryl Sewepagaham even announced the new MusiCounts resource “Wîtaskîwin" (which she authored) during her keynote presentation.

Lastly, MusiCounts met with guests at the Canada’s Great Kitchen Party event in Vancouver, BC. Along with our partners and friends, we indulged in some fine culinary dishes, saw wonderful performances and saw the winning chef get crowend, all while raising much-needed funds for music education!

We can’t make this national impact without support. Donate Aeroplan points in the spirit of the giving season and be a part of making music education accessible across Canada at musicounts.ca/aeroplan