The Eighth Laureate of the $50,000 Glenn Gould Prize is Dr. José Antonio Abreu: musician, economist, educator, politician and founder of the Foundation for the National Network of Youth and Child Orchestras of Venezuela (El Sistema). This remarkable arts education program reaches into some of Latin America's most dangerous and violent barrios to bring the transformative power of music and learning to children from ages two to 20. This system has brought the joy of achievement, the motivation to strive for personal growth and betterment, and the love of learning to children who would otherwise be part of a lost generation. In the last 20 years, Abreu's work has transformed the lives of over one million children.  In the process, it has produced some of the world's most exciting and inspiring musicians and ensembles, most notably the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (SBYO).
 

* Available in Canada, July 2009

NX Series guitars represent a new style of nylon strings guitars designed with pickup systems that faithfully reproduce the tone, character, and dynamics of the instrument. To meet the needs and playing styles of different players, the series offers two body types; the classical style NCX line instruments and the thin-bodies NTX line.

The mine models that make up the series differ in material type, but all feature Yamaha’s exclusive A.R.T pickup and preamp system, which is designed to deliver natural nylon string tone and at a level of realism that has never been achieved before.

For the month of May, the Music Industries Association of Canada (MIAC) is supporting Music Monday and the Coalition for Music Education in Canada with a very special promotion. Customers who purchase products in participating retail stores will be asked to donate one dollar to support this important advocacy program.

Yamaha is a proud supporter of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. 

Bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1985, Douglas Yeo is a respected performer, teacher, writer and conductor.
His multi-faceted musical life ranges from performances on historical brasses (serpent, ophicleide and bass sackbut) to playing
concertos by John Williams and Chris Brubeck with the Boston Pops Orchestra.

One of Canada’s most successful rock groups ever, Glass Tiger recently returned home from one tour they will never forget. The Toronto-based band was invited to visit Afghanistan by the Canadian military as part of a ‘Team Canada’ program that sees Canadian entertainers and former NHL hockey players provide a positive morale boost to the soldiers serving there. “Our mission was to lift the soldiers’ spirits for even a few brief moments, to show them Canada still cares, and to learn firsthand about what they are trying to accomplish in Afghanistan,” says Glass Tiger keyboardist Sam Reid.

"It was a perfect solution for me while on our recent tour in Afghanistan. Thanks Yamaha for hooking me up - the men and women of our armed forces were totally amazed that we were able to do an impromptu performance in a tent!" 

Yamaha Canada Music Ltd. is pleased to announce the winner of the MUSICmiles “Spread the Word” campaign.  Bruce Todd, Educational Services Representative for Long & McQuade Musical Instruments in Oshawa, Ontario, earned a trip to Tucson, Arizona for the National Association of School Music Dealers convention in April.

Bruce was one of the many school dealer representatives to enter the contest, which involved informing teachers about the MUSICmiles programme.  Bruce spread the word to over 120 new schools who will now be earning rewards which will help them acquire more Yamaha products, as well as present clinics and workshops by Yamaha Artists.