About CMC

History of the CMC

Today's CMC was founded in Montréal in 1958 by Claude Deschamps as the National Music Festival. Deschamps, along with a committee of distinguished musicians, established the admission and performance standards to support the goal of discovering exceptional musical talent. Recognizing that its regional nature limited competition, the competition was expanded beyond Québec in 1970 and renamed the Canadian Music Competitions.

In 1971, the CMC took a major step toward preparing young Canadian musicians for the rigours of international competition by establishing the International Stepping Stone category. Given the demands of this competition, the Stepping Stone portion only takes place every other year. Many of the past competitors, who range in age from 16 to 31, have gone on to pursue successful careers as solo artists.

Today, the CMC has over 700 participants annually, from across the country, competing in 10 categories as soloists and in ensembles. It provides an opportunity for young Canadian musicians and their teachers to meet and to learn from each other, and to be exposed to international standards of competition.

CMC has become an important part of the musical education process in Canada. The challenge of competing has not only improved the level of playing, but it has also inspired teachers to rise to the challenge.

Over the past forty-years, a regional festival has grown to become a vital part of the Canadian music scene and has served as a launch-pad for a generation of Canadian musicians. And it has provided an opportunity for countless individuals and the corporate community to make a tangible contribution to their communities' cultural life.

The CMC in BC

The CMC has contributed greatly to the musical community in this province. Over the past three decades, the CMC has grown in popularity in BC and has showcased some of our top talent. CMC alumni have gone on to become international solo and chamber artists, and teachers at some of the finest music schools in the world.

Who can forget the performances by Jon Kimura Parker, Corey Cerovsek, Amanda Chan, Libby Yu, sisters Patricia, Anne and Connie Shih, or Desmond and Gwen Hoebig?

Many of our alumni are busy developing the next generation of young performers - and teaching future CMC winners. Other CMC alumni have continued to perform, even if they are not pursuing music professionally - Diamond Tam performed a Rachmaninoff piano and organ concerto while at medical school in Ireland. More recently, George Kamiya, Richard Ho, Michael Cheung, and Joseph Tong established Quatuor Piano, a two-piano/four-hands group to perform in the community.

The CMC is clearly an important part of BC's arts community. But its future, like other arts organizations, depends on its members' support to promote and fundraise.

Objectives of CMC BC Society

• To participate in a truly national music competition, with close collaboration between institutions, music instructors and the most talented young musicians of BC
• To organize the Competition in a way that all musical talents would be discovered, celebrated and supported
• To encourage and motivate young talent for the pursuit of musical studies
• To familiarize our young musicians with the requirements of international competitions, whereby through very high standards, B.C. would consistently send a delegation to represent Canada at international competitions
• To award scholarships, so to financially support the future generation of musicians
• To provide vision for musical repertoire, thanks to guidance by internationally renowned musicians
• To create teaching and musical exchanges for young musicians between different provinces and to broaden their identity as Canadians

The Executive's activities include:

• Marketing and Communications - raising the CMC's profile and that of our young musicians to the local media.
• Outreach - promoting our young musicians in the local community by delivering opportunities to perform at CMC-organized concerts and recitals or third-party events which request performers.
• Fundraising - developing new fundraising strategies and pursuing potential corporate sponsors. Fees from competitors and members cover only about 50% of costs.
• Community service - find opportunities for Members and others in our community to volunteer at CMC-BC events. We need you!