About Euterpe
Mission Statement
EUTERPE: Music Is The Key, named after the Greek Muse of Music, is a registered Canadian charity whose mission includes providing highest-level compelling Live musical experiences that connect children to the arts, culture, roots, and heritage of Classical and Jazz musical styles, composers and instruments. Our principal focus are children in underserved communities where access to these life-enhancing opportunities are typically lacking.
Our Digital/Online ‘Animals in Music’ programs additionally introduce children to artists, and their music, from Indigenous/Métis, Latin, Asian, S. Asian, African and other musical cultures. These programs are available online in English/French, on our website, and are disseminated via email.
Our evidence-based programs inform, inspire, and excite the imagination. Delivered by world-class performers/educators, our unique programs are proven to have a tremendously positive impact on children of all backgrounds, uniting them through the universal language of music.
We also focus on seniors, especially those in Long Term Care Homes, significantly enriching their lives with imaginative stylistically diverse performance programs. Provided Live and Digitally, our caring world-class performers inspire, impart dignity, and uplift seniors’ morale and feeling of importance. Our programs are deemed by medical professionals to be ‘health-giving recipes’ for senior residents.
Our programs are free to all recipients and organizations and are endorsed by leading neuroscientists on Music and The Mind, and the education and arts communities.
Music Is The Key for happier, healthier children, families, seniors, and communities.
Euterpe: Music is The Key has been the recipient of generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, The Canada Council for the Arts, the Hodgson, George C. Hunt, Levante and many other foundations, as well as generous funding from private donors.
CHILDREN:
For over 20 years Euterpe: Music Is The Key has enriched children’s lives with music by creating and presenting highest-level music-education performance programs, LIVE and Digital, that inform, inspire and excite the imagination.
Our Digital/Online ‘Animals in Music’ programs bridge and connect the diverse musical cultures of Classical, Jazz, Latin, Indigenous/Métis, Caribbean, South Asian, Asian, African and other musical styles. A principal focus is children, especially those in underserved communities. When children experience the successful collaboration of cultures through musical bridges it demonstrates a healthy approach to uniting and communicating the best of what we are to each other all through the universal language of music.
Our programs are presented by world-class performers/educators of diverse cultural backgrounds. Inclusion and engagement is paramount to Euterpe’s philosophy and our programs have a tremendously positive impact on children of all backgrounds, including marginalized children (largely of low-income, culturally diverse backgrounds) in underserved communities.
Our Music Mentorship Program provides sponsorship of musical instruments and lessons for these children.
The long-term health, artistic and educational benefits of learning music and participating in music-making activities is scientifically known to provide inestimable benefits for the developing brain, aiding immensely with mental health, focus, academic achievement, all areas of positive social development, overall health and well-being throughout life. Yet, vitally important music programs that were once an integral part of Canadian school curriculums are no longer unavailable to the vast majority of children in our country.
Euterpe: Music is The Key’s life-enhancing evidence-based music-education performance programs inspire children of diverse cultural backgrounds to want to hear more of this music, to play a musical instrument and to become involved in music-making activities, such as singing in a choir or playing in bands. When children are involved with this music early on, they become much better equipped in life.
SENIORS
For over 20 years, Euterpe: Music Is The Key has been devoted to bringing highest-level, stylistically diverse performance programs to SENIORS. Tens of thousands of seniors’ lives have been significantly enriched by the wonderful performance programs provided by the world-class musicians of Ensemble Vivant, whose fun and engaging rapport with the residents accompanies the superb music-making. Euterpe: Music Is The Key’s unique performance programs, which have been endorsed by leading neuroscientists on music and the mind, richly fulfill the tremendous need for live musical stimulation for seniors.
EUTERPE – Additional Musical Initiatives Include:
EUTERPE: Music Is The Key: Sponsors Ensemble Vivant (core Euterpe musicians) to deliver Euterpe’s invaluable music-education performance programs in public schools throughout the nation in every locale that Ensemble Vivant performs.
COLLABORATIONS
EUTERPE: Music Is The Key musicians regularly collaborate with children and youth choirs to give young people the opportunity to perform with world-class professionals. It’s the music-making that brings the lasting joy, no matter the demographic.
EUTERPE: Music Is The Key collaborates with other charities, community outreach programs, institutions, and educational facilities.
CONCERTS in NEEDFUL COMMUNITIES
EUTERPE: Music Is The Key musicians provide concerts in needful communities. Live, shared musical opportunities bring people together giving lasting, joyous experiences.
FREE CONCERT TICKETS
EUTERPE: Music Is The Key provides free tickets to all Ensemble Vivant concerts to targeted community groups serving people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Euterpe Musicians:
Euterpe’s flagship performance group is internationally acclaimed Ensemble Vivant. To date, over 40 leading musicians have participated in Euterpe: Music Is The Key initiatives, including:
- Catherine Wilson, piano/artistic director
- Lydia Munchinsky, cello
- Norman Hathaway, viola
- George Koller, bass
- Corey Gemmell, violin
- Sarah Boyer, violin
- Marija Ivicevic, violin
- Ava Leschyshyn, violin
- Claudio Vena, viola
- Erica Beston, violin
- Aysel Taghi-Zada, violin
- Don Thompson, O.C., vibes
- Carissa Neufeld, vibes and xylophone
- Kevin Turcotte, trumpet/flugelhorn
- Alexander Brown, trumpet
- Guido Basso, O.C., trumpet/flugelhorn
- Phil Seguin, trumpet, percussion
- Steve McDade, trumpet/flugelhorn
- Mike Murley, sax
- Perry White, sax
- Tara Davidson, sax
- Allison Au, sax
- Jake Koffman, sax
- Virginia MacDonald, clarinet
- Kaye Royer, clarinet
- Sybil Shanahan, cello
- Tom Mueller, cello
- Mario Rodriguez, cello
- Mary Katherine Finch, cello
- Liza McLellan, cello
- Naomi Barron, cello
- Jim Vivian, bass
- Ross McIntyre, bass
- Andrew Downing, bass
- Adrian Bent, drums
- Brian Barlow, drums
- Barry Elmes, drums
- Juan Carlos Medrano, Latin Percussion
- Alicia Ault, voice
- Ismael Paris, voice
- Jacqueline Teh, voice; choir director with choristers of the St. James Town Children’s Choir
- Jani Lauzon, native flute, native drums, chanting
- Pankaj Mishra, sarangi
- Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed, tabla
- George Koller, tanpura
- Wen Zhao, pipa
Euterpe Makes a Difference. You Can Help.
The benefits of Euterpe’s initiatives for the young, developing mind are inestimable, and the multiple healing and other benefits for people of all ages are widely documented.
