About the Centre for Arts and Music (CAM) Program

“Overall it’s a great experience. You play music, learn music. It’s not something you would expect to be doing. It’s just not something you would ever do in school and it provides a great experience for music. I know I fell in love with music after I joined the CAM Program. I just spent all my free time playing music, practicing, and it’s really changed my life."
~CAM Participant

The Centre for Arts and Music (CAM) Program is a unique program, operated by the Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton, focusing on youth in vulnerable communities. Working with schools that local districts identify as “vulnerable”, we reach out to children and youth who may not otherwise have opportunities to participate in the arts.

In the CAM Program, youth learn how to write songs, play instruments, sing, and perform together on stage. Many of these students have never held a music instrument or sung publicly before CAM, and to be part of a band that will perform at, at least 2 concerts in the school year in front of hundreds of people is an amazing and inspiring transformation to witness.

Studies show that children who are exposed to the arts do better in school and other areas of life. Students and their parents have reported that they look forward to going to school, making new friends, and have more self-confidence.

Other studies also confirm the importance of keeping youth engaged in the critical after-school hours between 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM so our goal is to reach them during this time. We see this first hand every day, and we’ve even had local agencies confirm the positive impact the program is having in the lives of these youth. In fact, one agency reported that serious incidents at their center dropped from several per month to zero, they believe, as a result of student engagement in CAM.

We remove barriers by going to where the youth are – in their schools. As soon as the bell rings to end the school day, students need only to go to the music room down the hall and the CAM Program begins. We also provide a small snack to help with those after-school munchies.

We are immensely proud to operate our CAM Program, and to mentor a new generation of musicians and music lovers with the work of our amazing instructors. These talented people are professional Edmonton musicians and many of them have been with the same youth since the start of the program.

Our CAM bands are all expected to write at least one original song, in addition to performing covers. We are not too humble to say there have been some excellent songs coming out of this program. In fact, we’ve put together a compilation of CAM band music over the years. Listen here: https://centreforartsandmusic.bandcamp.com/album/cams-greatest-hits