The Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Schools
The Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Schools organization continues to expand! In 2025, there will be three CRMSS courses, held in London, Ontario, Charlottetown, PEI, and Burnaby, BC.
CRMSS Ontario 2025 and CRMSS Pacific 2025 will continue to be week-long events, but they will be joined this year in our calendar by CRMSS Atlantic 2025, which will be a weekend "taster" course. The ambition is to expand this course into a full week in 2026.
This represents a major step forward in our mission to be a truly national, "coast to coast" organization supporting and encouraging the performance and appreciation of Renaissance music.
What is a CRMSS course?
Aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at undergraduate students, graduates, and young professional musicians, courses run by The Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Schools organization (known as "CRMSS courses") are dedicated to the study and performance of Renaissance polyphonic vocal and instrumental music at the highest levels.
The CRMSS organization was founded in 2018 by UK-based Canadian baritone and conductor Greg Skidmore. Greg grew up in London, Ontario but has spent the last two decades living in the UK entirely focused on Renaissance music, performing regularly with the world's leading ensembles such as The Tallis Scholars and I Fagiolini. You can read more about CRMSS's Founder and Artistic Director on our Tutors page, where you can also get to know some of the other leading experts Greg brings together for these events.
When you attend a CRMSS course, you learn from internationally acknowledged specialist tutors from the worlds of performance and academia, and become immersed in this magnificent music. These are intensive periods of rehearsal and performance, both liturgically and in concert, all with an emphasis on quality in performance.
CRMSS Ontario 2025 Dates:
Saturday, May 24th
to
Sunday, June 1st
2025
CRMSS Atlantic 2025 Dates:
Friday, August 1st
to
Sunday, August 3rd
2025
CRMSS Pacific 2025 Dates:
Sunday, August 10th
to
Sunday, August 17th
2025
CRMSS Ontario 2025 will take place at
New St. James Presbyterian Church
and
St John the Evangelist Church,
in London, Ontario
CRMSS Atlantic 2025 is being hosted by
St Peter's Cathedral
in Charlottetown, PEI
CRMSS Pacific 2025 will be at
St. Helen's Parish
in Burnaby, BC
Applications
Back to topApplications for our CRMSS 2025 courses are now open! Please click here to begin the process online.
The application deadlines are below:
CRMSS Ontario 2025:
Saturday, February 1st 2025
CRMSS Atlantic 2025:
Thursday, May 1st, 2025
CRMSS Pacific 2025:
Thursday, May 1st, 2025
Please submit your application earlier than the deadlines if you can, so we can get to know you and help you through the process.
If you would like more information, please contact us using our contact form here. We're happy to chat about any aspect of what we do.
Is a CRMSS course for me?
While the courses are open to everyone aged 18 and over, successful applicants will have a high level of sight reading confidence and some experience with small ensemble music making. For singers, being comfortable working entirely unaccompanied is important, and any experience working in small, one-per-part ensembles will set you up well for your CRMSS experience. Some familiarity with Renaissance repertoire will also be an asset, though we welcome people who are new to this music as well. Current and recent university music students are especially encouraged to apply, though a major in vocal studies is not a requirement, nor is the completion of formal musicological study.
Our courses are very heavily focussed on performance; we encounter academic, liturgical, and stylistic questions primarily through our practical engagement with the music itself. All that is required is an open mind and an affinity for collaborative ensemble music making.
More Information
Back to topCost
For Singers:
The course fees for CRMSS Ontario 2025 and CRMSS Pacific 2025 are:
Full Price
$650
Student Rate
$450
For CRMSS Atlantic 2025 the fees are:
Full Price
$250
Student Rate
$150
We pride ourselves on keeping our course fees absolutely as low as possible while offering a world-class experience. We have not raised our prices since last year.
The fee covers all ensemble and individual coaching over throughout the course; participation in lectures and panel discussions led by our resident musicologist tutors; attendance and participation in masterclasses, private recitals, church services, and public concerts; and much more.
Participants at all our CRMSS courses are welcome to keep the scores they use, many of which will be newly edited specifically for each course.
We ask successful applicants to secure their place on a course by providing a deposit, a portion of the entire course fee. This will be counted against the total course fee, the remainder of which will be due later. The deposit is due as soon as you receive confirmation from us that your application has been successful. We aim to send out our acceptance letters a few weeks after each course's application deadline. The remainder of the fee is due a few weeks before the course begins.
The deposit amounts are:
CRMSS Ontario 2025 and CRMSS Pacific 2025
$200
CRMSS Atlantic 2025
$100
Once fees are paid, CRMSS reserves the right to limit any refund, taking into account the individual circumstances of a participant's cancellation.
For Instrumentalists:
We offer a range of opportunities for instrumentalists to participate in our courses. These are still in the planning stages for our three courses in 2025, so please check back here in the coming weeks for more detail.
Accommodation
Accommodation costs are not included in the course fee. We can help you if you would like some accommodation suggestions, but ultimately finding a place to stay is your responsibility.
You don't need to find accommodation through us and are welcome to arrange for it entirely on your own. Transport between your accommodation and the course venues will not be supplied by CRMSS.
Travel
Arranging and paying for your travel to a CRMSS coures is also your responsibility. For those of you who arrive in one of our CRMSS host cities by public transport, once you get here we will make sure you get to where you need to go on the first day. We can also help you get back to a nearby airport, or the train or bus station, after the course has finished.
Previous CRMSS Reports
Back to topAfter each course, Founder and Artistic Director Greg Skidmore prepares a report, with input from the tutor team, giving you the opportunity to get a feel for what happened. Please give them a read, and get in touch if you would like to know more!
Reports about our two courses in 2024 are still being prepared. You can read about our courses in 2023 in the meantime if you wish.
Download a course poster
Back to topPlease download and print off one or more of these PDF posters to advertise our 2025 courses at your university, church, or other institution and help spread the word!
More posters are being prepared. Please check back soon for CRMSS Pacific 2025 and CRMSS Atlantic 2025 posters.
The Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Schools is a federally registered Canadian charity with Charitable Number 762652873RR0001.
