Demonstrators demand Montreal's McGill Conservatory of Music stay open

Usually music fills the halls of McGill University's Schulich School of Music in Montreal, but music was instead heard outside on Tuesday as dozens gathered out front to protest the school's closure of its Conservatory of Music.

"I don't know how I'm going to do music for the next year," said Marianick Benoit. 

She has studied singing at the McGill Conservatory of Music for nearly six years and was among the protesters calling on McGill University to reconsider its decision to close the institution.

The conservatory is run by the Schulich School of Music. Unlike the prestigious music faculty, it is open to the greater Montreal community,  giving courses to students of all ages, like Benoit, and offering teaching space to instructors, free of charge.

But all that is slated to stop later this year.

Last week, the university announced the conservatory will be closing for good at the end of the summer after more than a century.

According to the school, the pandemic showed that "the conservatory is no longer financially viable nor sustainable."

While there were over 550 students before COVID-19 hit, projections showed that fewer than 100 students would sign up in the coming year.

Meanwhile, operating costs have increased and the university has been expanding its post-secondary music programs, meaning space on campus is at a premium.

"The trend is as clear as it is unfortunate," the announcement read, calling the conclusions "sobering, yet unavoidable."

However, instructor Marcelo Thys said these problems can be overcome and shutting down the conservatory is a blow to the arts.

"People who are going to attend concerts, people who are going to become musicians, people who are going to fund the arts here in the community — they're not going have this institution to represent them," he said.

"It's a very, very sad and frustrating day."

Speaking to the gathered crowd of protestors, Benoit said the school went online during the pandemic, forcing students to learn how to play instruments from home and that wasn't nearly as attractive as in-person learning.