07/01/2022
Pledge for our Future:
McGill Conservatory
La version française suit.
Dear Conservatory Instructors, Professors, students, parents, friends, sister unions and associations, our beloved Montreal community and all musicians,
We held a rally on Tuesday, June 28 to oppose McGill’s decision to shut down its Music Conservatory program. The program, which has been running for almost 118 years, and provides training to young students from across the Greater Montreal area, is scheduled to no longer exist by the end of this summer.
How can we save this invaluable long-running cultural and community program?
The President of MCLIU, Raad Jassim, asked and pleaded to both Deans (outgoing, and incoming) and the Provost to keep the program running and find solutions to grow it rather than close it. The three claimed that they are satisfied with their due diligence and are categorical that the program is unsustainable both financially and physically (required space). However, we asked incoming Dean Ferguson what it would take to keep the program running and he replied by saying funding.
Without any financial calculation, are all stakeholders ready to undertake this fundraising initiative? We will reach out to Seymour Schulich and any other community members who may have the capacity to help save the Conservatory. Additionally, the Union has started the process to publish an online petition in conjunction with FNEEQ/CSN. We will be updating you shortly when it becomes active and provide a link to share with your fellow colleagues, parents, students and the community at large.
See the messages below from Jordan de Souza, B.Mus 2009, M.Mus 2011, and a letter from parents:
Please use our page to express your point of view on this unfortunate McGill Executive action.
MCLIU Executive
Message from: Jordan de Souza
Date: Tue, Jun 28, 2022 at 5:20 PM
Subject: Pledge for our Future: McGill Conservatory
To: Dean Music , Sean Ferguson, Prof. ,
Cc: , Alexis Hauser, Prof. , Michael McMahon , Patrick J. Hansen, Prof. , Jean-Sebastien Vallee , ,
Dear Colleagues,
I had just finished conducting a performance of La Bohème at the Glyndebourne Festival in the UK when I read about the planned closure of the McGill Conservatory: news that had travelled swiftly across the ocean. I was on my way to a donor event, where I always make sure to mention the importance of access to a well-rounded music education – such as the one that I enjoyed at McGill University.
I have been proud to name McGill as a training ground and launchpad for my conducting career. I would not be the symphony and opera conductor I am today without the exposure and training I received at SSoM. Last year, the Canada Council for the Arts honoured me with the Virginia Parker Prize, awarded to one young Canadian classical musician. This award caused me to reflect on the power of music in our communities, and on how important it is to increase education access points to people of all ages. At a time of uncertainty and divisiveness in the world, music is a language that unites and engages.
The McGill Conservatory made an impression on me in my student days, despite no direct involvement. I used to practise organ as an undergraduate every Saturday morning on the fifth floor of Strathcona, observing an entirely different collection of students in the music building than one found on weekdays. There were kids of all ages carrying instruments, adults getting practice assignments from their teachers, and young students entering some of our hallowed teaching spaces (i.e. faculty offices) for their weekly wrestling match with Beethoven. The McGill Conservatory reminded me of where my journey with music began, and where I hoped my training would lead me. Those students also made me think that if I had kids one day (hopefully with the beautiful second-year soprano I had a crush on, and is now my wife), they could depend on entering a similar community of music amateurs (in the purest sense of the word – love). What the Conservatory demonstrated to music students at McGill was as important as technique. Students learned that music was not just for professional musicians or families who could afford private music tuition: music has a place in the heart of the community, and in the family home.
I had the privilege of conducting some great symphony orchestras in the early years of my career: Vienna Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Bayerische Staatsorchester, Adelaide Symphony, Philharmonia Zürich, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Orchestre Métropolitain, among others. But the further along I go, the less I find myself thinking about career, and the more I think about the first principle: access to music for all. The daily struggles of a life in the arts sometimes distorts the greater context: our first obligation is to bring music to the people, sometimes one at a time.
Music faculties within universities enjoy a rarefied status and influence, and it’s important to carefully consider how to use that power to be a leader in society at large. A style of community leadership that teaches us how society can best interact with the arts, and how young artists develop their craft in the service of something greater. I am certain that this is not the time to be closing conservatories, but rather working together to tend to the cultural ecosystem in a way that would require us to open more! But for the moment, saving one seems like the best first step.
For those that want to help, what can we do? Who can we call? I pledge myself to help in any way I can: recruitment of students, support of teachers, fundraising. And I assure you, I don’t work alone. Rather than a premature closure, may we approach the problems with fresh ideas and resources, and see if perhaps this crisis might build momentum for the rebirth of the McGill Conservatory that we know and love? I will work on informing myself of the situation better, but find myself with questions:
What is the ideal student enrolment?
When would be an acceptable time to achieve that goal?
What is the current approach to outreach?
What is presently being done to get word out into communities of all shapes and sizes?
What community partnerships do we leverage to recruit students?
What are the barriers to participation and how can they be addressed?
The spirit with which we approach these challenges should encourage public engagement and hope in these institutions, and a desire to nurture their growth for future generations. Our legacy should be one of building, not dismantling.
I'm sure this decision was not taken lightly, having considered the resources and needs of the organisation. But the public outpouring shows that perhaps the resources were underestimated. Could there be a temporary reprieve with the goal of making a sustainable plan? I sincerely hope that it is not too late to reverse a decision that could forever change the quality and inclusiveness of music education at McGill and beyond.
Yours,
Jordan de Souza
B.Mus 2009, M.Mus 2011
Message from Parents
Sent: June 28, 2022 6:55 PM
To: Conservatory Town Hall
Subject: Conservatory shutting down
À qui de droit,
Le Conservatoire malgré son illustre histoire semble devoir fermer ses portes sous prétexte de la pandémie. De nombreux lieux et entreprises ont pris cette tangente sans qu’aucune question ne soit posée. Avouons-le, la question des finances est sans appel et personne ne peut la contredire, mais des questions demeurent :
Est-ce là les principes qui prévalent pour l’Université McGill ?
Est-ce en accord avec la mission originel de ses fondateurs ?
Les départements sans grand rendement devront-ils fermer et que dire du Redpath ?
Nous pouvons douter que les réponses soient toutes affirmatives et il est regrettable qu’une Université si prestigieuse que la vôtre ne puisse conjuguer histoire et modernité.
Qu’adviendra-t-il dans les prochaines décennies si l’Université se ferme sur elle-même, faisant fi de la ville et de sa communauté qui l’entoure ?
Où est la vision sur le long terme qui prévalait jusqu’alors ?
La Musique vaut la peine d’être enseignée! La réponse affirmative que vous donnerez certainement vous fait éloge. Le département de Musique adjacent au Conservatoire et l’un des meilleurs au monde. Vous pouvez être fier; l’élite fait votre renommée. Or, que dire de ceux qui ne seront pas découverts avec un système qui semble vouloir être axé sur lui-même ? Combien d’enfants n’auront pas la chance de découvrir la Musique, la Culture et l’Éducation à son meilleur ?
Beaucoup de questions semblent devoir rester sans réponse faute d’ouverture sur l’Autre. La décision fut prise comme un fait accompli, sans avertir quiconque. Le Conservatoire n’existe plus après plus de 100 ans d’existence. Merci beaucoup, n’en parlons plus!
Qu’il est étrange de finir ce chapitre sur une note aussi funeste et sans même essayer de trouver des compromis dans le respect des professeurs de talent qui œuvrent au Conservatoire ? La statue de Victoria porte déjà le linceul. Le bâtiment est rénové, mais c’est un édifice sans âme que vous laisserez à la rentrée en plus d’un manque insondable pour les prochaines décennies. Un effet de la pandémie me direz-vous! Pourquoi ne pas changer les choses avant qu’il ne soit trop t**d. Des options existent!
Des parents d'un élève qui adore la Musique
Un plaidoyer pour notre futur : Conservatoire de McGill
Chères instructrices et chers instructeurs, professeur-es, étudiant-es, parents, ami-es, syndicats et associations alliés et communauté montréalaise d’allié-es et de musicien-nes,
Nous avons organisé cette semaine une manifestation pour témoigner de notre opposition à la décision de l’Université McGill de fermer son programme de Conservatoire de Musique. Ce programme, actif depuis près de 118 ans, offre des leçons de musique à des jeunes étudiant-es de toute la région métropolitaine de Montréal. Il est maintenant prévu par l’Université McGill de fermer le programme à la fin de cet été.
Comment pouvons-nous préserver ce programme communautaire et culturel de longue date dont la valeur est inestimable?
Le président du SCCIM Raad Jassim a demandé et insisté auprès des deux doyennes (sortante et nouvellement nommée) et au recteur de garder le programme en fonction et de trouver des solutions pour développer celui-ci plutôt que de le fermer. Les trois têtes dirigeantes de l’Université ont déclaré être satisfait-es de leur démarche et sont demeuré-es catégoriques sur le fait que le programme du Conservatoire est déficitaire financièrement et au niveau de ses installations physiques. Lorsque nous avons talonné le doyen Ferguson au sujet de ce qu’il faudrait pour préserver le programme, celui-ci a répondu qu’il faudrait du financement.
Sans données financières précises, est-ce que toutes les actrices et tous les acteurs du dossier sont prêt-es à entamer des efforts de financement? Nous allons rejoindre Seymour Schulich et tous les autres citoyen.nes qui pourraient contribuer à un effort de financement pour préserver le Conservatoire. De plus, notre syndicat a entamé des démarches avec la FNEEQ (CSN) afin de lancer une pétition en ligne. Nous vous ferons parvenir le lien dès que possible afin que vous le partagiez avec vos collègues, votre famille, vos ami-es et toute la communauté.
Prière de consulter les messages de Jordan de Souza, B. Music 2009 et M. Music 2011 ainsi que la lettre d’un parent :
Nous vous invitons à publier sur notre page Facebook et autres médias sociaux sur cette triste décision de l’Université McGill.
Le comité exécutif de MCLIU
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