Hamilton’s Mohawk College has announced the suspension of its Applied Music Advanced Diploma, effective immediately. The three-year Applied Music programme offered classical, jazz and contemporary vocal and instrumental instruction, along with composition and production skills.
While it will continue to operate until existing students have graduated, no new candidates will be admitted to the programme. The announcement was made to relevant staff, and posted to the college’s website in the form of a news update on November 22.
The Announcement
The announcement begins, “Mohawk College has made the difficult decision to suspend its three-year Applied Music Ontario College Advanced Diploma…”
The statement acknowledges the programme’s “long and successful history” of some four decades, and the fact that many graduates have gone on to bright careers. Many faculty members are the recipients of various awards in their respective fields.
“However,” it continues, “the programme has not been financially viable for several years, with declining enrolment and increasing costs. It is no longer financially possible to offer the depth and quality of courses required to provide students with the high-quality training that has made the Applied Music programme so successful.”
It ends with the statement, “This decision will not result in the loss of any full-time faculty positions at this time.”
What’s not mentioned is that the majority of the practical music instructors are professional musicians who are teaching part-time.
Mohawk’s music faculty includes people like pianist Alexei Gulenco, winner of the International Rachmaninov Piano Competition in Moscow, the International Jose Iturbi Competition in Spain, the International Franz Liszt Competition in Italy, and the Louisiana International Competition, among others. He has performed with orchestras across the globe, and lived in Hamilton since 2008.
Other than the announcement titled “Mohawk College announces programme changes” on the college’s website, there is no other notice of the closure, and the music admission pages have not been updated. There is no notice on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook on the subject (as of publication). Just three days ago, the college touted Music Faculty member Maria Campbell on their Instagram page.
The news comes on the heels of the college’s high profile announcement of the creation of an ambitious climate action plan, including a new School of Climate Action.
Why It’s Important
There’s no doubt that the programme’s closure will change the musical landscape of the city of Hamilton, where so many of its graduates have gone on to pursue music in various ways.
There will be no more influx of young, well-trained musicians from Mohawk into the live music scene to add to its components of classical music and jazz. In addition, professional musicians who depended on the added income of teaching may leave the city for greener pastures.
Local venue owner Brodie Schwendiman added a Facebook post where he articulated what many were discussing. “This [programme] has nurtured, mentored, trained & educated hundreds of people over the years, equipping them to being significant contributors to the music community in Hamilton and beyond.”
It leaves potential music students in the city with fewer choices for professional level instruction, which include the small music programme at McMaster University, the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts, and highly competitive National Academy Orchestra, along with other private institutions.
The closure of a music school is never good news.
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