Great News for Canada Day: We're FINALLY Getting a Music Hall of Fame!
Sunday, July 1, 2012 at 9:42AM
[This is from my column in Friday's edition of the Metro papers. - AC]
In a speech at the Empire Club last week, Conrad Black mused “Canadians are notoriously non messianic or self-important, and have no illusions about being a light onto the world.”
That’s a bingo. How else to explain that the Canadian Music Hall of Fame doesn’t have a proper home? Despite Canada punching far above its weight when it comes to exporting music to the world, we’ve done a lousy job of documenting our nation’s musical achievements.
That, however, is finally starting to change. The National Music Centre in Calgary is seeing to that. Later this year, construction will begin at a corner east of downtown on a 160,000 square-foot ultra-modern facility that will span 4th Street SE from what is now an empty lot to the King Edward Hotel, a legendary (but now closed) blues joint. When completed sometime in early 2015, we will have a state-of-the-art celebration of Canadian music.
“This will be more than a place with just plaques on the wall,” says Andrew Mosker, the NMC’s president and CEO. “We want to make it completely immersive and interactive.”
Some $75 million is already in place from three levels of government and public fundraising. There’s still another $40 million to go, but things look bright.
There will be a 300-seat theatre, a recording studio, a live-work block for artists in residence, a multitude of educational facilities and a large collection of artifacts relevant to our musical history.
And it’s more than just rock.
Reader Comments (2)
OK I'll be the first. Calgary?
Yep. Toronto had it but blew it. Hamilton/Burlington wanted it bad but lost to Toronto. Same with Winnipeg.
Calgary was the ONLY city that came to the table with CARAS (Canadian Association of Recording Arts and Sciences,the holders of the rights to the Canadian Muisc Hall of Fame) with a bid that actually got of the ground.