Earlier this year, Cambrian College suspended the fall 2021 intake of first-year students into its music performance program due to low registration numbers.
Only 10 students had registered to enter the program’s first year this fall.
After a revamp of the three-year program that the college hopes will attract more potential students, Cambrian says it has reopened intake for first-year students into its music program for fall 2022.
“So we’ve gone through and consulted about what students are looking for, and what industry is looking for, and we’ve made some changes to the curriculum,” said Brian Lobban, dean of Cambrian’s schools of business, information technology, media, music, art and design.
“Really, we looked at balancing performance with music technology and the business of music. So we’ve taken some courses out, and we’ve replaced them with some more courses on sound and sound recording, and various music technology and how to produce their own music.”
With the pandemic, and an increased demand for online content, Lobban said the college is hearing that musicians need to be prepared for these market conditions.
Laurentian University cut its music program last spring as part of its insolvency restructuring, leaving Cambrian as the only post-secondary school in Sudbury still offering music.
The only other post-secondary music option in Northern Ontario besides Cambrian is Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie.
Asked if Laurentian’s cuts might send more music students Cambrian’s way next fall, Lobban said that is yet to be determined.
“We don’t really know what the impact of that is going to be,” he said.
“We didn’t really understand what Laurentian’s numbers were in their music program, so it’s hard for us to guess what that impact will be on our enrolment. We’re cautiously optimistic we’ll get more applications this year, but that’s yet to be seen.”
