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CAMMAC is the perfect gathering point for music lovers of all kinds\u2014the ideal place to make and listen to music, no matter your age or your skill level.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row margin_top=”-50″ full_width=”true”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”35690″ img_size=”1920×500″ alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space height=”25px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row anchor=”mission”][vc_column] CAMMAC\u2019s founders firmly believed that making music together creates a bond between people that transcends age, language, and cultural differences<\/p>\n By 1953, when they had both become professional musicians and were living in Montreal, George and Carl Little had the idea of establishing a Music Centre for amateur musicians. With the support and participation of their wives, Madeleine and Frances, the Otter Lake Music Centre and Festivals Inc. came into being, near Huberdeau, in the Laurentians.<\/p>\n Training and concerts<\/strong> Children\u2019s program<\/strong> CAMMAC\u2019s name<\/strong> Amateur Musician periodical<\/strong> Click here<\/a> to view the digital copies of the\u00a0Amateur Musician<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>from 1998-2008<\/p>\n Regional committees<\/strong> Music library<\/strong> Purchasing the site<\/strong> Musical journeys<\/strong> Source of inspiration<\/strong> Another music camp, L\u2019Hame\u00e7on, was set up in the Magdalen Islands in 1980 by CAMMAC\u2019s executive director, Jan Simons. Several summers, music workshops were given for children, along with a choir and talks for adults, and concerts played by faculty members and campers. In addition, a sister music organization in British Columbia, West Coast Amateur Musicians, drew inspiration from CAMMAC, and resembles it in many ways.<\/p>\n Building the future<\/strong> And so now CAMMAC is looking resolutely toward the future, pursuing what have always been its core goals: broadening its role as a cultural leader in the immediate region, focussing on educating future audiences, offering introductory and more advanced training for amateur musicians, forming partnerships with high-calibre professional musicians and well-known musical ensembles, and being a gathering place for generations and families. Just like music, CAMMAC is always more than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n References: King, Valerie Verity, The History of CAMMAC 1952-1982, Golden Dog Press, Ottawa, Canada, 1984.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner] <\/p>\n\n
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\nOnce upon a time, there were two brothers who lived in New Brunswick, where their father, Everett Little, was a dispatcher with CN. Their Quebec-born mother, L\u00e9da Boucher, insisted that their eldest child, George, should take music lessons, and immediately pass on everything he learned to his four brothers and sister.<\/p>\n
\nIn response to the ever-growing numbers of music lovers registering, summer courses went from two to four weeks, six, then eight, before stabilizing at seven weeks. Concerts given by professional musicians also increased in number, with the entire region thus enjoying special access to musical culture.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1957, a children\u2019s program was added, so the whole family could register for musical activities.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1959, the original name was changed to Canadian Amateur Musicians, Musiciens amateurs du Canada, or CAMMAC.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1959, a periodical first appeared, becoming The Amateur Musician, Le musicien amateur in 1964. Serving as a link among Centre participants, who now came from several different regions, it offered feature articles on music education and music made by amateurs. Increased printing and distribution costs along with the advent of the Internet led to the printed Journal being discontinued in 2008.<\/a><\/p>\n
\nRegional committees were set up from 1959 onward, to develop local activities the rest of the year and help organize sight-readings, recorder classes and composition contests during the winter. Currently, there are three regional committees: Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau and Toronto.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1961, CAMMAC\u2019s music library opened, affording its members the opportunity to borrow music without charge. Containing a large number of chamber music and choral scores, this library is used by many groups of amateur musicians for their sight-reading and concert activities.<\/p>\n
\nA turning point in CAMMAC\u2019s history came in 1968 with the purchase of White Forest Lodge, allowing CAMMAC to become established for the longer term on the shores of Lake MacDonald in Harrington (following a stay at Round Lake Inn, in Weir, from 1956 to 1962).<\/p>\n
\nThe first CAMMAC Tour took place in 1970. These group trips gave CAMMAC members a chance to take part in International Society for Music Education (ISME) conferences in different countries, and meet and make music with amateur musicians from around the world. Over some 15 years, many countries were visited: Japan, Russia, France, Tunisia, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, England and Wales, as well as Oregon and British Columbia.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1978, a second centre, the Lake Rosseau Music Centre, opened its doors in Ontario, located successively in Muskoka, Bolton, Oakville and Lakefield. Long known as the CAMMAC Ontario Music Centre, it severed its connection with CAMMAC in 2010, becoming the Lake Field Music Camp.<\/p>\n
\nMore recently, in 2006, following an architectural competition, and with assistance from the governments of Quebec and Canada, the Argenteuil RCM and the Municipality of the Township of Harrington, CAMMAC inaugurated a new main building, incorporating many green design principles and boasting a superb concert hall with outstanding acoustics. The Music Centre received several awards for excellence, including the Laurentian Region grand prize for culture (Grand prix de la culture des Laurentides) in 2000, the Quebec Order of Architects award of excellence for sustainable development (Prix d\u2019excellence, mention sp\u00e9ciale d\u00e9veloppement durable) in 2007, and the Laurentian Region grand prize for tourism (Grand-Prix du tourisme, r\u00e9gion des Laurentides), for a tourist attraction with fewer than 100,000 visitors in 2007.<\/p>\n