Tegan and Sara just got a little bit closer to their new role as philanthropists. The electropop artists announced Monday that they will donate $25,000 to the MusiCounts Foundation, a charity founded by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to support music education.
MusiCounts was founded in 1989 by CARAS to offer scholarships to music students entering graduate school. It has since grown to include awards for teachers and opportunities for underserved communities.
The Canadian twin sisters are no strangers to CARAS, as they have won three Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy. Tegan and Sara said that they themselves had been in music classes growing up in Calgary, Canada, and that it was a crucial part of their lives.
“I think learning the history, learning why music is so significant, working together as a choir or a band… these are really important life skills.” Sara told CTV Toronto.
Tegan also recognized that music affected more than simply the singers and band members. “We employ so many different types of people who went through music programs and decided, ‘Hey, I want to do sound engineering, I want to do lights, I want to do guitar tech, I want to set up the stage, whatever it is.'” She told CTV Toronto.
CTV Toronto also reported that the sisters will play a free show in Toronto on June 29th as part of their gift to MusiCounts. The band is currently touring in support of their album “Heartthrob,” and will join Katy Perry as openers for her Prismatic World Tour later this fall.
