Browse "Organizations & Movements"

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, better known as ACTRA, is the union that represents performers in Canada’s English-language radio, television and film industries. Through its Performers’ Rights Society, it secures and disburses use fees, royalties, residuals and all other forms of performers’ compensation. Some of ACTRA's other activities include administering health insurance and retirement plans for its 22,000 members, negotiating and administering collective agreements, minimum rates and working conditions, lobbying for Canadian content and a strong Canadian production industry, and promoting and celebrating Canadian talent.

Founded in Montréal in 1975 by Yvan Dufresne, André Perry, Gilles Talbot, Frank Furtado, Guy Latraverse, Daniel Lazare and Michel Constantino, the Association québécoise des producteurs de disques (AQPD) was first established in October 1977 as the Association du Disque, de l'Industrie du Spectacle Québecois (and video as of 1987) or ADISQ.

Aeriosa Dance Society merges contemporary dance with mountain-climbing skills to create performances that take place on the outside of tall buildings, utilizing the walls, ledges, rooftops and open sky of the architectural setting.

Alberta Choral Federation (Alberta Choral Directors' Association 1972-81). Incorporated in 1972, the organization assumed its current name and extended the scope of its activities and services to choral singers and choirs, as well as directors, in 1981.

Alberta Composers' Association/Association des Compositeurs de l'Alberta (ACA). Founded at Edmonton in September 1977 upon the advice of an ad hoc committee comprising the composers Violet Archer, Dean G. Blair, David Duke, Ronald Hannah, and Richard Johnston, with the assistance of John Weinzweig.

Alberta Music Festival Association. Umbrella organization formed ca 1964 to represent and co-ordinate the competition festivals of the province of Alberta.

Alberta Registered Music Teachers' Association (ARMTA). Founded in Edmonton 15 Dec 1932 by Clara King, Florence Teets, and other teachers.

Aleatoric Music. Music in which either composition or method of performance is determined by elements of chance or unpredictability.

Alliance chorale canadienne. Begun in 1961 by Pierre Fréchette, Father Yvon Préfontaine, and François Provencher to bring together choirs in Quebec City and the Beauce region. In 1966 it received a government of Canada charter under the name Alliance chorale canadienne.

The Arts and Crafts movement in Canada consisted of architects, teachers, and craftspeople who worked with progressive patrons to integrate beautiful handcraftsmanship into everyday living.

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. Club for men and (beginning in 1985) women engaged in or interested in the arts (literature, architecture, music, painting, stage, and sculpture). It was founded in 1908 largely through the efforts of Augustus Bridle.

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Founded in 1889 to serve as the examination body of the RAM, the RCM, and, in 1947, the Royal Manchester College of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. In 1984 it was reconstituted as an independent company, linked to the Royal Schools.

Atlantic Canadian Composers' Association/Association des Compositeurs Canadiens de l'Atlantique (ACCA). Organization formed in 1979, through the initiative of Clifford Ford, at that time on the faculty of Dalhousie University.

Music bands are large instrumental ensembles consisting mainly of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Traditionally, bands have been associated with outdoor activities or ceremonies, e.g., to accompany marching, add cheer to festivities, and contribute to the pomp of state occasions. The symphonic (concert) band is a modern refinement; the jazz and dance band are distant relations. The predominance of bands over orchestras and chamber ensembles was due also to the fact that band instruments can be learned more quickly than string or keyboard instruments. Furthermore, the extroverted music and vigorous sound of bands, their suitability for rousing patriotic emotions, and their usefulness in enhancing non-musical events made them popular.

Banff Centre for the Arts (Banff School of Fine Arts, 1933-89). In 1991 one of three divisions of the Banff Centre for Continuing Education, so named in 1978 when the Alberta Legislature proclaimed the Banff Act establishing the Banff School of Fine Arts as an autonomous institution.