You need to hit all the high notes if you want to get in to McGill’s Schulich School of Music.
The program receives more than 1,000 applicants a year – but only a couple hundred are admitted.
“There is, has been a steady and perhaps increasing number of young people who are interested in classical music,” said Stéphane Lemelin, chairperson for McGill’s music department of performance.
In a time where high energy pop music commands much of the younger generation’s attention, there is still a strong interest for classical music.
“I was 17-years-old and singing opera was so much more satisfying than singing rock, ” Jonah Spungin, a McGill music student told Global News.
“Just because of the way we have to breathe.”
Throughout the years, strong ties have been formed between McGill’s music program and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO).
More than two dozen faculty members are part of the orchestra’s 92 musicians.
The MSO performs more than 100 concerts and year and has sold out 90 percent of the seats in the past year.
Maestro Kent Nagano says there is a strong talent pool to choose from as young students dream of performing in the world-renowned orchestra.
“It bodes well for the health and future of our great tradition,” he told Global News.
Nagano is entering his 12th year as the music director of the MSO.