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.
