2009 Program Update

	Blue Mondays All Ages Blues Jam and Workshops This year saw the official launch of our Blue Mondays All Ages Blues Jam to great success. With performers ranging in age from seven years old up to…well…senior status, the musical camaraderie, sharing, learning and teaching has been phenomenal. With co-hosts like Bill Dowey, Lou Rye, Gary Martin and others at the helm, the Blue Mondays jam has seen industry veterans play with fresh-faced youngsters, has had high school kids sit in with rambunctious horn sections and even a band-mate or two has been met here. Held on the last Monday of every month, workshops and free tours of the collection are hosted on alternating months and we’ve seen a lot of new faces through our doors. Pat McGannon of PM Gigs offered his advice on getting work as a musician in Calgary, Lou Rye offered his expertise in playing Chicago Blues guitar, Dylan McDonald gave a harmonica class and Mike Watson offered a history of blues music. Look forward to many more fun jams and interesting workshops in 2010 – all are open to the public and everyone is welcome.
	All Ages Jazz Jam In partnership with the Calgary Association for the Development of Music Education (CADME), Cantos also launched an all ages Jazz jam focused on building improvisational skills for jazz musicians. Each jam is hosted by a different high school jazz quartet and a list of songs is featured for each session. Kids and adults alike are welcome to participate and build their chops in a fun and nurturing environment.
	Holiday Tours Cantos debuted Music and the Macabre this Hallowe’en with a special tour co-led by medium Katalin Szabo. This sold-out tour told the spiritual stories of the renowned Cantos collection as Kat revealed illicit love affairs, cheeky prankster pianos and even a small cat following the group through the collection. Bolstered by the success of Music and the Macabre, Cantos also introduced custom Christmas Tours for families and groups throughout December – a fun and fanciful tour that allows groups to enjoy classic Christmas music on a variety of instruments throughout the collection – and sing along if they’re so inclined. Watch for more holiday-themed tours throughout 2010.
	Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame More than 20,000 people made their way through the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame during the 10-day Calgary Stampede festival in July. Cantos met many new friends during this time and shared our vision for the national music centre as well as running children’s programming through an instrument petting zoo and country music story time. We look forward to Stampede 2010 when we’ll expand musical programming and continue to tell the stories of Canada’s great country music icons through their memorabilia.
	Music@Noon@Cantos The Music@Noon@Cantos program, a free noon-hour concert series, grew significantly in 2009 with the addition of summer performances as well as a wider variety of performers from all over the world. Our partnership with Mount Royal Conservatory flourished with numerous classical performances by Conservatory students. Audiences also enjoyed a lecture and performance by a Cuban musicologist, a Hurdy-Gurdy/Saxophone duet in partnership with Alliance Francaise, classical guitar and flute duo by Banff Centre artists in residence and more.
	School Programs Cantos’ Good Vibrations program has become a go-to field trip for Grade 3 Science’s Hearing and Sound unit. With thousands of children learning about the science of sound through the Cantos collection every year, our reputation is spreading quickly as an excellent value-added field trip for these lessons. Cantos also entered into partnerships this year with Fort Calgary and Lougheed House to offer co-productions that tie in each destination’s offerings. With Fort Calgary, Cantos offers Canadian Communities Celebrate where children learn about different Canadian communities from Acadia to the Arctic. Lougheed House hosts Parlour Music 1905 where children experience life and music as it may have been around the turn of the century in Alberta. Cantos also expanded its offerings to Jr. and Sr. High School students with programs like Beginner Band and Synthesis as well as History of Rock and Roll. More information on these and other programs can be found at www.cantos.ca/educate.
	Organ Music Resonates In partnership with Calgary Society of Organists and Royal Canadian College of Organists, Calgary Centre, Cantos launched Resonate, a free listing of performances on pipe organs around the city, in 2009. Cantos also became a founding sponsor for the Canadian International Organ Competition in Montreal this year. Organ music fans will want to keep in touch in 2010 as Cantos develops new and exciting programming in partnership with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and other organizations throughout the year
	Creative Spaces Over the last year, Cantos has really established itself as a go-to venue for performance and events in Calgary’s Arts Community. Our facility rentals have increased significantly as word spreads about Cantos’ reasonably priced venue and unique setting combined with an organization whose mission it is to use our space as a means of creating meaningful experiences. One of the organizations with whom Cantos has formed a special relationship is the Collective on Sundays – a monthly showcase of under-age bands spearheaded by Calgary’s Random Task Collective. The program, hosted a number of times on the Cantos stage, enables young musicians to make the transition from their garage, basement, and ‘battle of the bands’ to professional live performance showcases. The project combines entrepreneurial planning, community building, and youth engagement, supported by mentors. As we move forward in 2010, Cantos will be focusing on building relationships and partnerships using our creative spaces to help further the creation, development, rehearsal and recording of music in for artists in Calgary and beyond.
	Emerging Artists Also in 2010, watch for an emerging artist program that will provide performance opportunities and other guidance for artists in the early stages of their careers. It’s going to be an exciting year for programming at Cantos!

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