TORONTO, March 7, 2018 /CNW/ – Today, MusiCounts, Canada’s leading music education charity, announced that Canadian music icon Jim Cuddy will be the recipient of the 2018 MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award, presented by The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation. The award recognizes individuals who have had an extraordinary impact on music education and MusiCounts.
“We are thrilled to present this year’s MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award to Jim Cuddy, through the generous support of The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation,” said Kristy Fletcher, Executive Director, MusiCounts. “We are very grateful for the extensive work Jim has done for us at MusiCounts, to champion our various programs and initiatives over the years. His support has made an immeasurable difference in the lives of music students across the country.”
“The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation has been dedicated to making higher education accessible to Canadian families for over 50 years,” said Sherry MacDonald, President and CEO, Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation. “We are excited to present this award alongside MusiCounts to Jim Cuddy, whose tireless advocacy for music education enriches the lives of so many young Canadians.”
As a member of Blue Rodeo and as a solo artist, Cuddy has received some of Canada’s highest honours including, The Order of Canada, inductions into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame, multiple JUNO and SOCAN Awards and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. For nearly 15 years, Cuddy has been an ongoing advocate for music education through his profound support of MusiCounts initiatives and events.
In 2004, Cuddy was the driving force behind the creation of JUNO Cup, an annual charity hockey game, which to date has raised $840,000 for MusiCounts. Cuddy also served on the MusiCounts Advisory Committee for several years, helping to further the charity’s mission of ensuring that youth have access to music in their school or community. He has also participated in a MusiCounts Band Aid Program celebration and been an advocate for CARAS and MusiCounts. Most recently in 2017, Blue Rodeo sponsored the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award hosting the recipient teacher and her students at the band’s recording studio, The Woodshed.
“I am honoured to be receiving the 2018 MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award. By providing instruments to schools across Canada, MusiCounts helps teach kids to not only enjoy music but to actively participate in creating it,” said Jim Cuddy. “In giving kids a love of music from an early age we are teaching them to appreciate music, and by extension, all art, throughout their lives. I am so proud of MusiCounts and the important work they do.”
Cuddy will receive a solid crystal statuette based on the JUNO Award design, at the 2018 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on March 24 in Vancouver during the JUNO weekend.
About Jim Cuddy
Jim Cuddy has written many of the songs that have become indelible in the soundtrack of Canadian lives. With the release of his fourth solo album, Constellation, he adds ten songs to that extraordinary songbook and on this record, Jim continues to find new ways to balance personal reflection and plainspoken storytelling, remaining both intimate and accessible. Both as a solo artist and as one of the creative forces in Blue Rodeo, Jim has received nearly every accolade Canada can bestow upon a musician including 15 JUNO Awards, The Order of Canada and, along with bandmates Blue Rodeo, has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, received the Governor General Performing Arts Award and a star on the Walk of Fame.
About MusiCounts
MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity associated with CARAS and the JUNO Awards is keeping music alive in schools and communities across Canada by putting musical instruments into the hands of children that need them most. MusiCounts’ mission is to ensure that youth in Canada have access to music programs through their schools and communities. MusiCounts celebrates musical excellence and achieves its mission through its MusiCounts Band Aid Program, the MusiCounts TD Community Music Program, the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award, MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award, scholarships and other music education initiatives. MusiCounts is funded by many of Canada’s most dedicated corporate citizens including and especially TD Bank Group, Bell Media, SiriusXM Canada, the Slaight Family Foundation, Music Canada, Vista Radio, and The Hot Topic Foundation. MusiCounts has been supported since inception by Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., Universal Music Canada, Warner Music Canada Ltd., JUNO Songwriters’ Circle and JUNO Cup. MusiCounts was established in 1997, and has awarded over $10,000,000 in support of music education in Canada. These funds have benefitted over 950 schools and communities, supported over 350 post-secondary music program graduates, and honoured 13 extraordinary music teachers and one MusiCounts ambassador.
About The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation
The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation has been dedicated to bringing higher education within reach for Canadian families for over 50 years. Their mission is to advance education in Canada including several charitable projects in the field of education. Most recently, they developed a new community investment initiative called CST Inspired Minds® Learning Project.
SOURCE Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation
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