Canada Music Week®
The aims of Canada Music Week® are to bring to the attention of the public, through various means, the importance of Canadian music; to support composers and performers of Canadian music; to introduce contemporary music to young Canadians and stimulate a keener appreciation and understanding of this music; and to encourage music educators to widen their knowledge and experience of Canadian works.
Canada Music Week® is dedicated to music in its fullest sense but since 1967 particular focus has been on the Canadian cultural content. Thousands of Canadians experience Canada Music Week festivities each year in their communities.
History of Canada Music Week®
Canada Music Week® was initiated in 1960 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Association (CFMTA). Canada Music Week is celebrated during the third week of November.
In 1957 Violet Isfeld, who was then president of the Canadian Federation of Music Teacher's Association, proposed that a National Week for Music be initiated in 1960 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the Federation. The response was enthusiastic and the celebration so successful that the next year (1961) it was decided by CFMTA council to make "Canada Music Week®" an annual event.