Rapport de la Commission d'enquête sur l'enseignement des arts dans la province de Québec

Rapport de la Commission d'enquête sur l'enseignement des arts dans la province de Québec, commonly called the Rioux Report. It was submitted to the lieutenant-governor in August 1968 by the commission's president, Marcel Rioux, on behalf of the vice-president, Jean Ouellet, and commissioners Jean Deslauriers, Réal Gauthier, Fernand Ouellette, and Andrée Paradis, and was published in 1969 by the Éditeur officiel du Québec in three volumes divided into three tomes. The report touches all the arts but attaches a particular importance to music because 'man was born of sound (the word) and his essence abides in sound.'

In volume 1 the report traces the history of music teaching in Quebec from the early beginnings of the colony and outlines, through the previous 100 years, the respective roles of the religious orders, the AMQ, and the conservatories, university music faculties, and schools, stressing throughout the growth of musical life.

Volume 2 describes in detail music education at the pre-school, elementary, secondary, collegiate, and higher levels, as well as professional, pre-professional, and paraprofessional training, and makes recommendations in these areas. The report next discusses the training of teachers. Though music is not included in the section dealing with 'art education and disturbed children,' subsequent chapters are concerned with the organization of adult education and the role of music in this context. The report again touches on music in the chapters entitled 'The responsibilities of a ministry of cultural development' and 'Suggestions for a cultural policy' (cultural democracy).

Volume 3 contains appendices such as 'Musical education in Hungary and the physical and intellectual development of the child' by Jacquotte Ribière-Raverlat. The report introduces the idea of 'open pedagogy' as well as the concepts of pre-professional and paraprofessional levels, the pre-professional leading to a concentration on music to produce professional musicians and the paraprofessional providing all students with the possibility of pursuing their musical education in complementary courses throughout their studies.

Finally the report makes three recommendations:

- that music (as well as the other arts) be present at all levels of education, especially at the pre-school level (at least half the time to be devoted to the arts), at the elementary level (30 minutes a day), and at cycle I of the secondary level, becoming optional with cycle II and at the collegiate and higher levels;

- that special consideration be given to instrumental music, particularly that for strings (violin), for the playing of which very intensive training is required during a student's early years;

- that all the institutions currently teaching music be grouped together under the administrative tutelage of the Ministry of Education, that some of their resources be pooled, and that musical education be given, wherever possible, in the schools, colleges, and universities rather than in separate institutions.

These recommendations led in particular to the establishment of vocational public music schools in Quebec.