Pre-Professional Program | Canadian Musicians Co-operative

Who can apply?

To be considered for a funded position in the Pre-Professional Program, you must:

be between 16 and 30 years of age at the beginning of the program

be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment

have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.

What's the audition process?

Step 1:

Submit an application online that includes a 2-3 minute audition video and all required supporting materials (see "What should I have ready?"), or attend a Live Round 1 Audition Date.

Step 2:

Attend a virtual callback audition that will include a live audition in front of a jury, a short media interview, and a formal job interview. You will be required to learn a piece from a pre-selected list that will be made available 48-72 hours before your audition.

Step 3:

Wait for the call to hear if you've been selected for the Pre-Professional Program!

What should I have ready?

Short summary of your career goals for the summer
2-3 minute audition video of a live, unedited performance (original songs preferred)
Be able to perform a varied repertoire for up to 2 hours in public for C.E.P.'s

Please note: We are not a provider of music lessons. We do not teach participants how to play an instrument or how to be a vocalist. It is expected that you have already achieved a level of technical skill mastery on your instrument.

The Pre-Professional Program program is a summer intensive employment opportunity for youth Canadian musicians at the beginning of their careers. Program participants engage in daily interdisciplinary music business and performance training, and perform multiple times per week in their program location.

Important Information

Time Commitment

Individual funding is typically for 8 -10 weeks within the program, and usually has a 30 - 35 hour/week commitment. Participants are expected to be available in the afternoon throughout the week for training, and evening/weekends as scheduled for performance.

Monday is the common day off for all Pre-Professionals.

There is some scheduling flexibility most evenings and weekends to accommodate existing performance bookings. If you have a questions regarding evening/weekend availability, email jobs@canadianmusicians.coop.

Application Deadlines

Applications submitted by 11:59 PM EST on March 16, 2025 will be guaranteed consideration for the 2025 Pre-Professional Program.

Applications received after this date will still be accepted, and will be considered if additional space is still available in the program.

Important Dates

Online Application Submission deadlines:

Round 1: March 16, 2025 at 11:59 PM (guaranteed consideration)
Round 2: April 27, 2025 at 11:59 PM

Callbacks/Interviews:

Round 1: March 29 & 30, 2025 Completed
Round 2: May 2, 3 & 4, 2025 Completed

Applicants who were unable to attend Callbacks Round1 (R1) who notified us of their power and data failures due to the ice storm will be accommodated in Round 2.

Please be advised that space was limited for R1 Callbacks and all applicants are still under consideration for the next round.

Application Questions?

Drop us an email at jobs@canadianmusicians.coop, and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible!

FAQ

The biggest difference between the two programs is the high level of independent work completion of Emerging Artists (EA), and the complexity of content being discussed and applied during training and collaborations (e.g. Pre-Professional Artists (3P) writing bios and learning how to book gigs vx EA's preparing for international export activities and writing strategic release plans).

Pre-Professional Artists (3P's) have an assigned Artist Coordinator who supervises and oversees their daily work and ensures active participation in the workforce. Pre-Professionals also attend "office hours" for mentoring time with their assigned Emerging Artist.

Pre-Professional Artists attend MI workshops and trainings as scheduled through the week, and are expected to actively participate in each session as part of your work week. (Approximately 16 hrs). You are also paid to complete a exit activities arising from each workshop. Be prepared that this is unlike school; the work activities you are assigned are not optional, it is your job to complete this assigned work, on time, and with excellence, every day within the allocated hours.

The other 50% of a 3P's work week is spent delivering Community Engaged Performances (C.E.P.) in order to build their performance abilities and connect with members of the public and their communities. Since contracts are typically 280 hours each season, this means approx. 140 hrs of training and building your skills and 140 hours of performance in the community over the summer. To be clear - this is about 14-16 hrs of performance time each week, and is scheduled on Wed, Thurs, Fri and both days on the weekend. Monday is planned as the consistent day off for everyone in this program ( unless you choose to work a holiday Monday.)
All applicants are streamed in a single application this season. All applications start with the mandatory information, (which completed the Pre-Professional submission and additional information is to be provided if you wish to also apply for Emerging Artist or Showcase.

There is a field within the application where you can identify you would like to be considered for the Emerging Artist program placement. Check this box if you have the assets to submit.

To be successfully submit and Emerging Artist application you must
a) submit all supplementary application requirements for the Emerging Artist application

b) ensure your EA submissions are professional quality

c) have completed this work yourself - therefore representing your Artist Entrepreneur abilities , or identified that you hired specific tasks out and your rationale for having done so.
A C.E.P. is a Community Engaged Performance. These are performances which are delivered during your summer program hours, at no charge, to support and engage within the community you serve. C.E.P is about 50% of what you do in the program, typically about 15-16 hrs per week.

All C.E.P.'s are scheduled by you, during your first week, and swiftly approved by the C.E.P. Coordinators so you know when and where you are performing, and can work within any travel or existing tour plans. "Self-Directed C.E.P's" provide a great way to engage in many ways that are typically "gate-kept" as you are already paid for your time, fully insured, and simply looking to give back to the community by providing a performance. This allows you to demonstrate your abilities, your professionalism and generate 'goodwill'. Pre-Professional Artists typically work in their constituencies, but they also have access to travel regionally to achieve the goal of "building their audience", and some performance hours can be exchanged within other communities.

At most C.E.P.'s you can collect tips and sell merch from your case to increase your remuneration. C.E.P.'s are also licensed with SOCAN (Tariff 4 - Popular Music Concerts) so you can collect public performance royalties for your own compositions.
C.E.P. is approximately 50% of your summer employment time and is not optional. C.E.P. is valuable tool for Pre-Professional Artists.

If your interest is to participate only in the workshops, you can simply become a member and attend any workshops. To be clear, this would be outside of the scope of the Pre-Professional Program, and you would not be compensated.

C.E.P is also a great foundation upon which you can try new things out and expand your performance chops. It gives you lots time in front of different audiences to make new relationships and try out new material or strategies. You should also try to leverage your C.E.P. hours to create small opportunities for festivals, events and other talent buyers to get to know you this year, so you might be considered for their events in the future.
There are a few different types of performance delivery. The Co-op pays to licence these performances via SOCAN for (C) copyright use. Most times, you can also collect tips and sell your artist-branded merch.

For standard C.E.P.'s (scheduled or self-directed) participants animate public spaces such as town squares, the beach, dock or marina, public parks, community centers, small business openings, charitable events, summer festivals, community celebrations, and other local events.

There are also "request C.E.P's", which come in via the bookings section of our website. Historically, many of these performances have been "can you donate your time/it's great exposure" type community events. By utilizing C.E.P. to deliver them, we have an opportunity to educate charities and others on the true value of their performance donation requests so they budget properly in the future and many now offer proper rates when booking. The C.E.P. coordinators work diligently to ensure artists have equitable access to these requested performances.

These performances take place in the location of your contract, so be sure to indicate only the areas you will actually be able to work on your application.
Mobile Device: For payroll purposes, you require a working mobile device with data to punch in and out at locations without WIFI service. It's a requirement you must maintain throughout your employment. Payworks uses only 5 -  10 seconds of data per punch.

Computer: You will need daily access to a computer and the internet, during your scheduled work hours. Laptops are typically preferred due to your mobility.  Donated (recycled) laptops may be available for participants who do not have reliable access to a computer, and we can usually get public access on a computer for you at one of our partner locations, (e.g. public library, Contact North Centres, etc.)

Equipment/Gear:
Artists are also responsible for ensuring they have all the equipment necessary for performances in the community. No electrical power is provided to us.  Small battery-powered amplification for guitars and voice is optional, but highly recommended to avoid a tendency to over-play/sing. (You do not need and should not plan to bring a P.A. system to any C.E.P. performances)
Many post-secondary programs require completion of a work term or field placement to graduate.

We are pleased to support you in completing this experience if you are accepted into the Emerging Artists program and your school approves the placement.

If there is a difference between the hours your program requires you to complete, and the hours available in your EA Contract, you can complete any additional hours as a volunteer. On an individual basis, occasionally additional hours can be approved by the funder, mid season, but we can only request this, and we typically do not receive a timely response.
If you attended all your workshops, completed each activity and feedback form and created high-quality, professional assets;

Artist-branded domain & well-designed website

Professional EPK populated with high-quality assets

Well-written artist bio's

Video content

Photo downloads

and a Technical plot, then you probably have done the work and have your music business industry side together.
Each funded position is tied to a federal geo-political jurisdiction called a "constituency", also known as a "riding". Your postal code and this web site will tell you what constituency you presently live in. Alternatively, you can look up other locations to explore this information. We are funded for specific locations, not for all locations.

Your assigned constituency is where your work is funded to take place, and where your contract is situated. This is primary location you will physically perform in. However we may also scheduled you to perform in any locations you indicated as preferred primary/secondary locations on your application, as we must ensure to fulfil our commitments to each community.

Please be aware that even if we applied for a project in the constituency location where you reside, this does not guarantee we will receive funding for that location. The locations change each year, based on the local priorities of the Member of Parliament.
No preference is given to:

current or previous members

previously participants of the Emerging Artist, Pre-Professional Program or other programs

clients of the Co-op Studios

anyone who's parent is a volunteer here

anyone who volunteers here themselves.

Typically, people who have participated in our programs often do score better if they learned, retained and applied the knowledge from their previous program, and this can mean that their application is more robust. But conversely, if previous participants are unable to demonstrate what they learned, and use industry terms correctly etc, this can negatively impact their assessment.

Returning applicants will be expected to detail their growth following previous completion of the program/previous application cycle.

For youth in need, there is a Financial Hardship application which may cover some, or all of your membership fee for your development year.
Digital Livestream Studio/Rehearsal space, and collaborative learn/work at the facility in Barrie, ON is now open to members and the general public. It provides an opportunity for participants to deliver high quality, professional livestream performances, and collaborate with each other easily. You can record BTS footage easily with our four ceiling-mounted Sony PTZ cameras. For audio studio info click here.

Applications are NOW OPEN for SUMMER 2025