Music Monday to host nationwide sing-a-long and Toronto youth rally May 2

On Monday May 2, 2016, thousands of students from coast to coast will come together to participate in Music Monday and celebrate the impact music education has on our lives. The nationwide event will begin when schools open on the Eastern shores of Newfoundland, moving across the country to closing school bells by the Western shores of British Columbia. At 12:30 PM EST, students will join in on the official singing of the Music Monday Anthem, “We Are One.”

Beginning at Noon ET, student supporters and Coalition For Music Education’s Youth4Music ambassadors will gather outside Toronto City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square for the Toronto Lives Music rally and showcase concert, hosted by Céline Peterson. Toronto Mayor John Tory, entertainers Sharon & Bram, and JUNO-nominee Scott Helman will be in attendance for the rally, which will also feature performances from Canadian Brass, Melanie Doane & The Uschool, Dijah SB, Charlotte Siegel, and more.

The Coalition For Music Education will also be presenting the NUFSICISUM Youth Leadership Awards at the rally, which are given to students who have made a special positive impact in their school music program.

In 2013, retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield helped lead a nationwide sing-a-long of his Music Monday anthem “I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing),” co-written by Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies, aboard the International Space Station. Following a nationwide search in 2014, Bolton, Ontario’s Connor Ross penned his winning anthem “We Are One,” which will be performed again in 2016 across Canada.

Participants are encouraged to use the hashtag #MMC2C to share their Music Monday experiences, and can find the links to the nationwide rally and sing-a-long webcasts beginning Monday morning on the Music Monday website.