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Our activities

Offering professional development opportunities, including PIVOT for emerging composers, and (re)Charg(é) for later career composers
Hosting and co-hosting seminars, including Rivers, to encourage professional and artistic advancement for composers
Recognizing leadership and accomplishment in Canadian music through the Friends of Canadian Music Award; highlighting accomplishments in equity in Canadian music through Signal Boost
Hosting the Canadian Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), issuing an annual call for scores, while representing Canada at the ISCM’s annual World New Music Days festival
Running the Indigenous Artists Commissioning Project, which commissions and records a new composition by an Indigenous composer for inclusion in the ISCM Canadian Section’s submission to the World New Music Days festival
Providing a growing list of resources and databases, including a schedule of suggested commissioning fees, to help composers guide and maintain their careers
Using advocacy and inter-organisational dialogue to foster an environment in which Canadian classical music is highly valued.

AGM Information

Who We Are

The Canadian League of Composers (est. 1951) is a national organisation run by composers for composers.

Learn more about our organisational structure here.

Our Mission

To advocate for and empower Canadian composers and sound artists.

Our Vision

To help composers and sound artists build and navigate sustainable careers, locally, nationally, and internationally, by fostering creativity, resiliency, and improvements to the artistic landscape in Canada.

How Do We Do This?

ADVOCATE

Present the concerns of Canadian composers to funding bodies, performance rights organisations, governments, presenters and other stakeholders;
Increase awareness of the CLC’s mandates within the wider music and arts community;
Work with other arts service organisations to strengthen the arts community as a whole.

EMPOWER

Provide composers and sound artists with tools to thrive as creators in an ever-evolving cultural landscape;
Create and maintain professional development programs for composers at various stages of their careers;
Build solidarity and community among our members through a united sense of purpose and mission.

More Resources

Wondering where to start on our website?

Watch our specially curated CLC 101 videos, introducing some of our most vital resources.

CLC 101

Our people

The CLC Council is an elected volunteer board comprised of 12 CLC members that represent the various regions of Canada. Elections for Council positions are held every two years. The CLC Council meets in person once every two years and holds conference-call meetings on a quarterly basis. Council members belong to one or more CLC Committee(s), to dedicate their work to specific issues and projects relevant to composers.

Councilors

Staff

Committees

Our History

The Canadian League of Composers was founded in 1951 in Toronto by a group of eight composers: John Weinzweig, Louis Applebaum, Harry Freedman, Andrew Twa, Murray Adaskin, Harry Somers, Philip Nimmons, and Samuel Dolin. The idea for the league grew from an informal discussion in February of 1951 between several of these composers at Weinzweig’s home. The first organizational meeting was held on 1 April 1951, and John Weinzweig was elected the first president of the CLC. The CLC’s activities were directed by a volunteer board of composers, a practice that still continues today.

Full History