CBC Music Class Challenge 2026 spring edition: prizes
Find out more about all the exciting MusiCounts grants for music education
The 2026 spring edition of the CBC Music Class Challenge powered by MusiCounts is officially open: you can now register here. After you have registered, the submission form is available here.
The prizes for this year's competition include gold record award plaques and thousands of dollars in MusiCounts grants, which can be redeemed for musical instruments and equipment for your school or organization.
For the following categories, the first-place winners will receive $2,000 in new musical instruments from MusiCounts. First, second and third place will receive plaques.
- Category 1: mitêh (Heart) Elementary Performance (kindergarten to Grade 4)
- Category 2: mitêh (Heart) Intermediate Performance (grades 5-8)
- Category 3: mitêh (Heart) Senior Performance (grades 9-12)
- Category 4: Original Elementary Performance (kindergarten to Grade 4)
- Category 5: Original Intermediate Performance (grades 5-8)
- Category 6: Original Senior Performance (grades 9-12)
Only public schools and registered charities that do not charge students more than $200 per year to participate in their program are eligible to be shortlisted in the top 10 for categories 1-6. Programs that do not meet this criteria — including private schools and tuition-based programs — are still welcome to participate and may be eligible to receive the Tuition-Based Program Award plaque, which recognizes outstanding submissions from programs with higher participant fees.
To help ensure that more schools benefit from the MusiCounts grants offered through the Challenge, any school that receives a first-place prize and financial award will become ineligible for first-place or financial awards in any category for the following three years. For example, a school that wins first place in 2026 would next be eligible for a first-place financial award in 2029. These schools are still encouraged to participate and remain eligible to be shortlisted, receive second or third place, and be recognized in other ways.
Remember, any original song entry must use only material that you hold the copyright to, and that you are granting CBC the right to use your original song on our platforms for the contest. Review our rules again for more information.
