Welcome to the Arthur W. Delamont Foundation website. This website is foremost a platform for public school music programs in Canada and the USA. Canada and the USA are the only two countries in the world that have an ensemble based approach to public school music education. Every child entering elementary or secondary school in either country can expect to be able to play in a band or sing in a choir. The only other country that comes close is Japan but I believe it is only partially ensemble based, meaning not every school at the elementary and secondary level will offer ensemble based music instruction.

Our goal this first year for 2023, is to post two hundred music programs on this site, one hundred in B.C., fifty in Washington State and fifty in Oregon. We will follow this each year with another two hundred music programs moving east. In five years, there will be one thousand high school music programs on this site.

For the first time ever, music educators at the click of their mouse will be able to connect with other programs locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. They will be able to see, through a link to other programs, what is going on in other schools regarding music education. They will be able to easily connect with other programs to plan trips, concerts, exchanges and information.

Once we have identified two hundred programs, we will apply a list of criteria to them and for the first time be able to see standards emerge based on these two hundred programs regarding similarities and differences. The information we collect will be invaluable to music educators in enhancing and building their programs. These standards may change each year as another two hundred programs are added or may not. It will be interesting to see.

We invite you to explore our site and discover the legacy of Arthur W. Delamont. Find out more about our annual fundraiser called The Riviera Book that raises $25,000 annually per school for two hundred music programs and how you can be a part of it. It also includes three book launches each year to three different Riviera’s. This year in 2023, we are going to Cannes on the French Riviera for the European launch of The Riviera Book, then Miami to The Redneck Riviera for the American launch and then Vancouver on the Canadian Riviera for the Canadian launch. Be sure to visit the Arthur W. Delamont page and find out who he was and what he did. As well, visit our Resource Library where you will find a wealth of books on Arthur W. Delamont and his legacy as well as books on B.C. Music Educators, high school music programs and community bands. There are also a number of websites on all of the above. Lastly, you can read about other things we have planned for the future such as reviving Vancouver’s Concerts in the Parks Series which was popular in the thirties, forties and fifties.