The judges have officially selected the winners of the 2026 spring edition of the CBC Music Class Challenge, powered by MusiCounts.
As a reminder, here are the prizes available for the following categories: the first-place winners will receive $2,000 in new musical instruments from MusiCounts, and first, second and third place winners will receive plaques.
WATCH | The winners of this edition of the Challenge:
Thank you to all the teachers and students who participated, and on behalf of everyone at CBC Music and MusiCounts, congratulations to our winners.
Category 1: mitêh Elementary Performance (kindergarten to grade 4)
Judged by Sherryl Sewepagaham
First place: St. Patrick Fine Arts Elementary (Grade 4 Music Class) from Lethbridge, Alta., performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“Fantastic submission! I watched this many times to catch all the wonderful music-making happening all at once. The little students are such great Orff players and the singers were in tune and pronounced the Cree text very well. I really liked the addition of movement. So much goodness in all of this thanks to their teacher(s). Well done!”
Second place: Brown Junior Public School (Brown School Primary Panthers) from Toronto, performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“Great submission! The little singers were well-rehearsed and in tune. The Cree pronunciation was fantastic. It’s clear their teacher(s) put great effort and joy into their music instruction. I loved watching this many times. Bravo to all!”
Third place: Irvine Elementary School (Mme Shier’s Class and Irvine Choir) from Port Coquitlam, B.C., performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“Wonderful submission! The students were prepared and focused throughout the song. I can tell that they spent a lot of time learning the song and pronunciation. Their performance was engaging and lovely to watch. Kudos to their teacher(s) for great instruction. Some Cree words weren’t pronounced as accurately but their overall sound was beautiful. Great job kids!”
Category 2: mitêh Intermediate Performance (grades 5-8)
Judged by Sherryl Sewepagaham
First place: École secondaire Michelle-O’Bonsawin (Chorale Michelle-O’Bonsawin) from Toronto, performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“Great trilingual submission. I can tell the teacher and students worked really hard on the Cree pronunciation, especially the spoken text at the end. The singers’ tone was bright and in tune. Drummers kept a great rhythm. Well done!”
Second place: Sistema Toronto – Parkdale (Sistema Parkdale Singers) from Toronto, performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“This submission was an absolute joy to watch. The little musicians were focused and seemed to be committed to their performance. The percussion section was a wonderful surprise (especially the energetic egg shaker!). The Cree text was pronounced well. It’s clear their teacher(s) run a great program and all the students were engaged. Bravo to all!”
Third place: Capitol Hill Elementary School (Capitol Hill Elementary Choir) from Burnaby, B.C., performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“I really liked this submission because of their originality to add Chinese instruments, flutes, and handbells to support the singers. The Cree pronunciation was great and this shows their teacher worked with them to correctly pronounce this new language. Paper red hearts — love, love! Congratulations.”
Category 3: mitêh Senior Performance (grades 9-12)
Judged by Sherryl Sewepagaham
First place: Saint Patrick Secondary (Saint Patrick United Ensembles) from Toronto, performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham
“I like the originality of a choir and rock band together. The choir’s vocal tone was clear and in tune. Cree was pronounced correctly. Art installations were nice and helped to set the intention to acknowledge orange in relation to Indigenous Peoples and the ‘Every Child Matters’ campaign for awareness (although I’m assuming?). Band players were good (electric guitar player rocked it!). Great arrangement and key change by teacher-conductor. I smiled throughout while watching. The conductor and students worked really hard and it shows! Bravo.
Second place: Unionville High School (Arts Unionville Chamber Choir) from Markham, Ont., performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“Beautiful tone by the choir. They were focused and well-rehearsed. There were some pronunciation errors in the Cree text, specifically in the spoken word section, but I assume it may be due to language barriers and learning Cree. Overall, well done by the teacher-conductor. I watched this many times and thoroughly enjoyed their submission.”
Third place: Dr. G.W. Williams SS (Sen. Repertoire Class Gr. 11/12 Band) from Aurora, Ont., performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
“This was a really great submission. The band arrangement was surprising but really well arranged. Loved the originality! But while the singers were in tune, they were sparse (four singers) and difficult to adjudicate with the band as the main focus. The meaning of mitêh heard in the song itself was a bit lost.”
Honourable mention: Lotus Centre for Special Music Educ. (LC Singing Coll. & Rock Band) from Kanata, Ont., performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
Category 4: Original Elementary Performance (kindergarten to grade 4)
Judged by Jasmine Denham
First place: Faraday School (The Faraday Olympians) from Winnipeg, performing the original song Rise to the Challenge.
“The performance featured a variety of excellent melodies and a key change at the end. It was a highly engaging performance with well-rhymed, excellent lyrics that established a strong sense of form.”
Second place: Dr. E. W. Coffin School (The Coffins – Rm. 4) from Calgary, performing the original song Follow Your Dreams.
“Amazing! Stopped me in my tracks! Unique melody and lyrics, multiple instruments and voices coherently put together, and a style of song that is very current and relatable to youth and adults! Very progressive and introspective — I’m wildly impressed!”
Third place: Second Street Community School from Burnaby, B.C., performing the original song If I Was In Charge of the World
“I love the theme behind this song! It’s so creative and allows the children to become dreamers! The melody is instantly recognizable and easy to sing back, which is an awesome trait for a hit song!”
Category 5: Original Intermediate Performance (grades 5-8)
Judged by Jasmine Denham
First place: Roberta Bondar PS (The AA Batteries Gr. 8 Rock Band) from Brampton, Ont., performing the original song All I Want Is Nothing.
“The songwriting for this band is brilliant, and the performance is amazing! Well done! Each section of this song is impeccably crafted; smooth verses, and pre-choruses that create a perfect lift into choruses that have a perfect pay off! Exactly what you are looking for in a song. If this was released commercially I would definitely consider playing this on the radio!”
Second place: St. Joseph Catholic School (Intermediate Band) from Oshawa, Ont., performing the original song Beach of Endless Time.
“What a fun and creative song! It’s so catchy and full of musical moments that leave you with a smile and a desire to seek out a beach!”
Third place: Central French Immersion Public School (Phantom Crush) from Grimsby, Ont., performing the original song Phantom Crush.
“There is so much joy and creativity in this performance that it’s hard to not listen to it on repeat and find pockets of joy and sparkle in every beat and every cadence! This song is beautifully written, and so well performed. It’s clear a lot of effort was put into creating this song! Great work.”
Honourable mention: Dr. E. W. Coffin School (The Coffins – Rm. 1) from Calgary, performing the original song Follow Your Heart.
Category 6: Original Senior Performance (grades 9-12)
Judged by Caitlin Veitch
First place: Austin O’Brien High School (AOB Guitar Band) from Edmonton, performing the original song Erase.
“This is my favourite. I really love the arrangement and that’s what pushed this into the winner’s circle for me. The choice to use all guitars and a very simple percussion (and then the surprise addition of melodica!). I like the singer’s vocal phrasing and the melodic choices the music and vocals create together. I can hear this song done in a few different iterations, which to me, is always the sign of a good song. If the melody and the message are clear and strong and repeatable in various styles, that has the potential to reach a lot of different kinds of listeners.”
Second place: Korah Collegiate (Mustang Sally) from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., performing the original song Time Machine.
“Wow! This was my second choice. The vocalist is great, has so much charisma and looks really comfortable on stage. She makes excellent use of the space. The guitarist is incredible! Lil Brian May Halen for sure. I liked the use of the backup singers with the melody echoes. A solid live band with a power pop hit.”
Third place: Father Leo J Austin CSS (Grade 12 Music Class/Dryden) from Whitby, Ont., performing the original song I Can’t Speak.
“Another strong band song! This also feels like a legit current emo/hardcore release. Nice arrangement and production, and the band is super tight considering two bassists and two lead guitars and a sax! I am impressed. I hope these guys play live and shred for real! The lead vocalist is fantastic and I can totally hear her fronting a touring band. Great guitars and melody. Especially strong back end of the song, nice production as there’s a lot going on but there’s good space.”
Tuition Based Program Awards
Indigenous song winner: Rundle College (Rundle College Grade 4 Music Class) from Calgary, performing mitêh by Sherryl Sewepagaham.
Original song winner: Tone Labs Music Academy (The Youngstars) from Markham, Ont., performing the original song Our Time.
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