MusiCounts Grants Press Conference

Laid out on the table in the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre was an ample amount of quality headphones, music equipment and laptops that will be donated to the SKETCH Working Arts Program as a part of the $200,000 MusiCounts, CARAS and TD are giving away to community programs in the inaugural year of the MusiCounts TD Community Music Grants program.
This is the first time MusiCounts has awarded grants outside of the school system and for its inaugural year, 15 recipients have received music grants, including SKETCH.
What started as a conversation about youth support turned into a reality after Juno-award winning artist and member of the Broken Social Scene spoke with MusiCounts nearly two years ago about giving more opportunities to youth outside of the school system, Allan Reid, Director of MusiCounts explains.
“Kevin Drew came to us and said, ‘What are you doing to help kids who aren’t getting music through their schools or they are not good at school, they are dropping out?’ That was him, he had a real tough time in school and when TD came on board, it allowed us to take our programs that we do for the school systems and expand it out into community centres and after school programs and kids that are a little bit more at risk. Music for them and for so many people, this is their moment where they shine and it gives them some definition in their life,” says Reid.
SKETCH, a community program that targets youth who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness was a major recipient of this year’s MusiCounts TD Community Music Grants program and demonstrated where the funds and equipment donations will be going with a musical performance. The performance, courtesy of SKETCH recording artists, consisted of songs that were written alongside Drew just a few days prior to the grant awards ceremony.
Helen Carlson, a young artist who has come to SKETCH for the past two years to record and learn more about her craft like engineering and production performed for Kevin Drew and a few other SKETCH members during the celebration.
“It felt good to be here to give back to SKETCH what they gave to me to be a part of this and [I was] honoured to represent SKETCH and honoured to work with Kevin and that he did all of this for us,” she says following the set.
Because of MusiCounts and TD, 15 recipients have walked away with a little bit more of a foundation and with one year under its belt, the grant program is sure to make a large impact supporting Canada’s music community.

Gift Of Music at the Hard Rock cafe

Like any successful holiday gift exchange, ticketholders left Toronto’s Hard Rock Café with a lot more than a gift card or stocking stuffer at the third annual Gift Of Music.
The event, hosted by Kid Kut and Jully Black, was dedicated to raising money for MusiCounts, a charity-based organization that focuses on supporting music initiatives and programs in schools. Those who supported the fundraiser enjoyed music from the solid roster of Canadian talent such as Kim Davis, August, Trinity Chris and JD Era. The renowned venue was packed wall to wall with music lovers who came out to celebrate the season and give to a great cause.
Michael Hurley, manager of MusiCounts, thanked everyone in attendance for making a difference in children’s lives across Canada and shared that the foundation will donate over $600,000 to Canadian schools in order to build their music programs.

“At MusiCounts our mission is to make sure that every child in Canada, regardless of circumstances, has access to music programs in school,” he said, while addressing the crowd. “What this is doing is providing an opportunity to learn skills to help them improve with other subjects in school, it’s an opportunity to discover a class that actually makes them want to go to school every day. It’s an opportunity for them to discover their talent and an opportunity for them to build their self-confidence. These are skills that transfer far beyond a classroom, whether they want a career onstage or anywhere else. That is why music is so important and that’s why it needs to stay in our schools.”
Many desirable gifts, including House of Marley headphones and boom boxes were raffled off between sets. The music company has partnered with MusiCounts, donating funds from every set of headphones sold in Canada, which has been tallied at $70,000 to date.

Savannah Re, who opened the show with her signature soulful voice in a festive red dress, was blessed enough to go to arts school, but the young up-and-comer said that the support is not there for the majority of kids who have dreams of becoming an artist like herself.
“Even in our schools, music is looked at as something that is less than exemplary. MusiCounts is something that we need,” she said.
Besides raffle prizes, everyone in attendance was given the gift of music through some of the talent in Toronto and were able to give back just that through their support of the MusiCounts initiative. It was a night of great music, in support of the future of music in Canada.
Photos By: Kiah Walsh