McGill Conservatory to close its doors

Montreal’s McGill University has announced that its McGill Conservatory will close at the end of the summer term due to a fall in attendance levels and lack of financial viability.

The pandemic hit the conservatory hard. Whereas there were close to 100 instructors working at the Conservatory and over 550 students taking private lessons prior to the first Covid lockdowns, these numbers fell to just 62 instructors and 300 students during last year’s online enrolment.

In a statement published on the conservatory website, dean Brenda Ravenscroft and incoming dean Sean Ferguson said: ‘as it has done with many aspects of our lives, the pandemic has dramatically changed the reality of operating the Conservatory… Our best-case projection for in-person enrolment for next year would not exceed 100 students. The trend is as clear as it is unfortunate.’

Founded in 1904, the conservatory is a community program providing private lessons to students of all ages in teaching and administrative spaces provided free of charge by the University’s Schulich School of Music. However, it seems these spaces are no longer available for the conservatory to use. The deans’ statement reads: ‘As the School continues to grow its University-level programs, these spaces are now at a critical premium.’

Current McGill Conservatory students finish their students in the summer, but no student registrations will be accepted beyond this point.

Ending their statement, dean Brenda Ravenscroft and incoming dean Sean Ferguson said: ‘Although this decision is extremely sad for our staff, our instructors, and the Montreal music community, we will always be proud of the generations of pre-school to adult learners who have furthered their musical education through the Conservatory—and of the generations of instructors who made those educations possible.’

You can find out more about McGill Conservatory and read the full statement here.