Canada is an immense country with a relatively small population of little more than 20,000,000. As in the United States, it has been difficult in the past to develop continuing lines of communication through our nation. The few university music programs that did exist tended to remain in isolation, a situation that restricted the development of new curricular ideas.

During the last ten years, however, Canadian university music programs have begun to face the present and future, and some have already developed into programs of considerable quality and quantity on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. New curricula have been established, buildings have been constructed, music libraries have been expanded, and excellent faculty have been hired. Although there are many reasons for this new development, the main impetus has come from a national organization established in December of 1964. After five formative years, this new organization, the Canadian Association of University Schools of Music, has published music curricula standards in all undergraduate and graduate fields, and will continue to press for even higher standards throughout our country.

The CAUSM meets once each year and serves in a capacity similar to that of The College Music Society except that it is even more all-embracing in its functions. The CAUSM represents some twenty-five Canadian universities that offer music degree programs. But it prefers to have music educators, performers, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, theorists, composers, and administrators meet together jointly, thus avoiding that fragmentation that has troubled many of us who have taught in the United States. Our June, 1970 annual meeting in Winnipeg was devoted to papers and discussion on theory, composition, and music education; in 1971 musicologists, ethnomusicologists and performers will meet in joint sessions. In succeeding years, all disciplines will be mixed together in order to bring about communication between all musical areas. Thus, the CAUSM is an association of musicians who meet together annually in order to discuss new musical developments relating to matters ranging from ethnomusicology to computer music. It might be added that the CAUSM acts also as a sort of NASM since it serves as the official accreditation body for Canadian university music programs.

For all of these reasons, the CAUSM has a particular warm spot in its collective heart for The College Music Society and we want to maintain a warm relationship with the latter. I am sure that there is much that our two organizations can do for music on our continent.