National Music Centre

Who We Are

Our Mission

To give Canada a place that amplifies the love, sharing and understanding of music.

Our Vision

To be a national catalyst for discovery, innovation and renewal through music.

Our Roots

Our roots can be traced back to the installation of a pipe organ—known as the Carthy Organ—in Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall in 1987. With the Carthy came the genesis of the International Organ Festival and Competition presented by TriumphEnt, which ran annually in Calgary from 1990 to 2002. The Carthy and the success of the festival subsequently inspired the creation of a new organization, the Chinook Keyboard Centre, which began developing a collection of keyboard instruments in mid-1996.

Beyond the Keys

Chinook Keyboard Centre was soon renamed Cantos Music Museum and the scope of its collection expanded beyond keyboard instruments to include electronic instruments and sound equipment. In the year 2000, the museum began hosting concerts and offering gallery tours.

In 2003, TriumphEnt and Cantos Music Museum joined forces as Cantos Music Foundation, expanding programming to the collection and gallery spaces. Then, in 2005, an exhibition commemorating 100 years of music in Alberta planted the seed to expand the organization’s scope to chronicle, celebrate, and foster a broader vision for music in Canada. And so, in February 2012, Cantos became the National Music Centre (NMC).

A New Era for NMC

A new era in NMC’s legacy began in 2013 when construction started on its new building, Studio Bell. The 160,000 square-foot architectural masterpiece in the heart of Calgary’s East Village opened on Canada Day 2016 to the enthusiasm of music-lovers, tourists, teachers, and Calgarians alike.

Today, Studio Bell is home to NMC’s expanded collection, which includes more than 2,000 rare instruments and artifacts, as well as four Canadian Music Halls of Fame. With interactive educational programming, live performances, engaging exhibitions, and in-house artist incubation, NMC’s new home is so much more than a museum. It is a hub for music, innovation, and cultural discovery in Canada.