Comox Valley music studio launches four new bursaries to widen access to music education

A local music studio in the Comox Valley is putting its own resources behind a simple idea: cost should not be the reason a student stops studying music. Con Moto Music Centre has launched four new bursaries aimed at widening access to music education across the Valley, available from the 2026-27 academic year.

Studio president Adam Willey framed the initiative in personal terms. Bursaries like these can make or break someone's education, he said, adding that similar support was what allowed him to finish his own degree when he was in college.

The four bursaries, explained

Bursary for Post-Secondary Education

Open to current Grade 12 students and recent graduates of School District 71 who are pursuing post-secondary music education at a Canadian college or university.

Bursary for Youth Music Lessons

Available to families who live full-time in the Comox Valley and have a child currently enrolled in music lessons with a studio or qualified instructor in the Valley. The child must also be currently enrolled at a School District 71 school.

Comox Valley Youth Music Centre (CYMC) Instrumental/Choral Bursary

Covers the tuition costs of a deserving student attending any CYMC Instrumental Music or Choral programme.

Bursary for Vancouver Community College (VCC) School of Music

Open to any student attending the Vancouver Community College School of Music.

Between them, the four bursaries span the full journey a young musician might take, from a first set of private lessons in primary school through to a formal post-secondary music degree, with the CYMC bursary specifically supporting the Valley's own youth ensemble and choral programmes along the way.

Why the studio decided to act

Willey was direct about the motivation behind the initiative. It feels amazing to be able to give back to the community, he said, pointing to what he described as a lot of cool musicians coming up in the Comox Valley who are doing great things. Supporting and fostering that development, he said, is something the studio sees as important to do whenever it can.

The gesture reflects a pattern increasingly visible in community-level education support: rather than waiting for a school district or government programme to fund a gap, a local business steps in directly, often informed by its own leadership's lived experience of what a bursary can mean at a pivotal moment.

What families need to know

Applications and full eligibility criteria for all four bursaries are available at www.conmotomusic.com/bursaries. Families with a child currently taking music lessons in the Valley, current Grade 12 students planning a post-secondary path in music, and students already enrolled at CYMC or VCC's School of Music are all worth checking the criteria directly, since each bursary has a distinct eligibility profile rather than a single unified application.

For Comox Valley families weighing the cost of continuing a child's music education, particularly as private lessons and post-secondary tuition both become more expensive, this is a concrete, local option worth exploring alongside any school-based or provincial funding support already being considered.

Sources:

Comox Valley Record, "Comox Valley music studio creates four bursaries focused on music education," Comox Valley Record Staff (July 28, 2026). https://comoxvalleyrecord.com/2026/07/28/local-comox-valley-music-studio-creates-four-bursaries-to-further-access-to-music-education/