Music in the Barns

What Music in the Barns does

Music in the Barns is a Toronto-based not-for-profit contemporary classical music organization founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Carol Gimbel. The organization produces live performances, recordings, and educational programs for contemporary classical music audiences, with a deliberate strategy of staging events in unconventional venues such as converted barns (Artscape Wychwood Barns), biodynamic dairy farms (Glencolton Farms), abandoned power plants (Hearn Generating Station), public squares, art galleries, and boutique hotels, rather than traditional concert halls. Its programming emphasizes immersive, multimedia productions that combine film, dance, and live music with the goal of breaking down performer-audience boundaries, and it has a particular focus on commissioning and performing works by leading Canadian contemporary composers including Rose Bolton, Scott Godin, Michael Oesterle, Nicole Lizée, and John Oswald.

The organization's core offerings are threefold: live performance events and concert series, recorded music releases (most notably the 2019 Bolton | Godin | Oesterle album produced in partnership with artist-led label New Focus Recordings, whose featured Bolton work was nominated for the 2020 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year), and a recently launched free mobile application (MitB Bow Game, released 2023, developed by Shape Products, available on the Apple App Store). It is also developing a prototype digital musical instrument in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts to make music pedagogy more accessible, including for remote and Indigenous communities. Supporting infrastructure includes a small leadership team (founder/Artistic Director Carol Gimbel, Creative Development lead David Schotzko), a Board of Directors, and an Advisory Board including conductor Michael Schmidt and Bear Walker.

The business model is a non-profit funding stack rather than a conventional revenue model. Primary income sources are grants from public arts councils (Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, FACTOR), corporate sponsorship (CIBC, TD Bank, community foundations), ticket and event revenue from festival and venue partnerships (Luminato, Ottawa ChamberFest, INTERsection Festival, Canadian Music Centre), and recording sales and licensing through New Focus Recordings on streaming platforms. The mobile app is offered free of charge, consistent with the organization's community-outreach and audience-development mission. The organization has no disclosed headcount, no disclosed revenue figures, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding rounds.

Name

Music in the Barns

Legal name

Music in the Barns

Website

https://musicinthebarns.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Music in the Barns is a Toronto-based not-for-profit contemporary classical music organization founded in 2008 that produces live performances in unconventional venues, commissions and records works by Canadian composers, and runs education and digital outreach programs for music audiences and learners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Classical Music Performance

NAICS

Musical Groups and Artists (71113), Record Production and Distribution (51225)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Session Musicians & Vocalists (MPAIAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Music Instruction (Instrumental & Vocal) (EDAMAAAE), Music Education & Practice Software (Ear training, tutors, metronome tools) (MPAIAIAJ)

Keywords

• Contemporary classical music
• Live chamber music performances
• Music education programs
• Concert recording production
• New music commissioning

Headquarters

HQ city

Suffern

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Arts Council Funding: Primary funding from government arts councils including Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council for programming, recordings, and new initiatives.
2. Performance Revenue: Ticket sales and event revenue from performances at festivals, partnerships with presenting organizations, and venue-based events.
3. Recording Sales and Licensing: Album releases through artist-led label New Focus Recordings, including Bolton | Godin | Oesterle (2019). Revenue from recording sales and potential licensing of compositions.
4. Corporate Sponsorship: Support from corporate sponsors including CIBC, TD Bank, and various community foundations for specific productions and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Music in the Barns is a not-for-profit contemporary classical music organization that produces live performances in unconventional venues, released albums through artist-led label New Focus Recordings (most notably Bolton | Godin | Oesterle in 2019), and develops community and education initiatives including the MitB Bow Game iOS app and a prototype digital musical instrument for accessible music pedagogy.

Product overview

Music in the Barns is a contemporary classical music organization offering three distinct offerings: live performance events held in unconventional venues (farms, abandoned buildings, community spaces), commercial recordings produced in partnership with New Focus Recordings (featuring works by Canadian composers like Rose Bolton, Scott Godin, and Michael Oesterle), and a mobile application (MitB Bow Game) developed with Shape Products. The organization was founded in 2008 and is led by Artistic Director Carol Gimbel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MitB Bow Game: A mobile game app developed by Shape Products, where characters jump between strings without landing in lava.

Products and services

• Contemporary Classical Music Performances Live contemporary classical music events and concerts presented in non-traditional venues such as barns, farms, abandoned power plants, and community spaces. The organization focuses on innovative approaches to performance that challenge conventional concert hall formats.
• Bolton | Godin | Oesterle (Album) A 2019 commercial recording produced in partnership with New Focus Recordings featuring contemporary chamber works by Canadian composers Rose Bolton, Scott Godin, and Michael Oesterle.
• MitB Bow Game A free mobile game app developed in partnership with Shape Products, where players navigate a character jumping from one string to another without landing in lava. Available free on the Apple App Store.
• Symphony in the Barn (Annual Summer Program) Annual summer orchestral performance program at Glencolton Farms featuring symphony performances in outdoor farm settings, with Music in the Barns as co-artistic director and executive producer.

Quantifiable outcome

• Juno Award nomination for Classical Composition of the Year (2020) for Rose Bolton's 'The Coming of Sobs'
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Canada Council for the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor funding partner supporting digital musical instrument development, music pedagogy accessibility initiatives, and exploration of outreach strategies to remote indigenous communities. Also provided support for the Bolton | Godin | Oesterle recording release.
• Artscape Wychwood BarnscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome venue partnership from 2008 onwards. Music in the Barns occupied a storefront suite in this mixed-use community arts hub, utilizing the 7500 square foot Mainspace for performances and programming.
• New Focus RecordingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist-led recording label partnership for the Bolton | Godin | Oesterle album release in 2019. The label handles distribution of the recorded works internationally.
• Glencolton Farms / Michael SchmidtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative partnership with biodynamic dairy farm and symphony orchestra conductor Michael Schmidt for the annual Symphony in the Barn summer program. Music in the Barns serves as co-artistic director and executive producer for performances at the 200-acre farm.
• Canadian Music CentremajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Canadian Music Centre's festival 'New Music in New Places' presented Music in the Barns for the Academy of Lions all-night rave event.
• Ottawa ChamberFestmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for 2019 remount of #1000Strings project in Ottawa, bringing the collaborative string performance to a new audience.
• INTERsection FestivalmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommissioning festival for the original 2015 #1000Strings project at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square.
• Theatre DirectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the 2011 'Classical for KIDS' concert series targeting neighborhood families and cultivating relationships with young audiences.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Eighth Blackbird: Contemporary chamber ensemble with a strong commissioning and recording model, active education/outreach programming, and a small touring core; closely mirrors Music in the Barns' operating shape and repertoire focus.
• International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE): Large flexible contemporary chamber ensemble commissioning new work, recording, and running educational initiatives such as the ICElab; directly comparable in mission, repertoire strategy, and digital-extension ambitions.
• Alarm Will Sound: Contemporary chamber orchestra with a record label partnership, multimedia productions, and crossover repertoire bridging classical and popular idioms; highly comparable in cross-genre positioning and recorded output.
• Bang on a Can: Multi-format contemporary music presenting organization combining ensemble performance, touring, festivals, and educational programs; comparable as a nonprofit new-music producer working across live, recorded, and learning channels.
• Soundstreams: Toronto-based Canadian contemporary-music presenter running an international composer commission program, performances, and educational initiatives; the closest geographical and functional peer for Music in the Barns in the Canadian ecosystem.
• Kronos Quartet: Long-running, globally touring contemporary chamber ensemble with a similarly large commissioned-work catalog, recording program, and education/community outreach mission; directly comparable as a new-music performing organization with international reach.

Regional players

• Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal: Canadian contemporary chamber ensemble commissioning and performing new works by Canadian and international composers; comparable in repertoire and nonprofit governance, but regionally based in Quebec.

Emerging players

• Talea Ensemble: Contemporary chamber ensemble specializing in contemporary repertoire with a recording series and educational outreach; similar in scale and repertoire strategy to Music in the Barns.
• Wet Ink Ensemble: New York-based contemporary chamber ensemble focused on commissioning, premiering, and recording new work, with active educational programming; comparable as a small-scale, artist-led new-music operation.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Music Centre: National Canadian institution promoting and presenting Canadian contemporary music through festivals, partnerships, and outreach; overlapping mission and partner ecosystem (it has presented Music in the Barns) but operating at a broader institutional scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/musicinthebarns
• Facebookfacebook.com/musicinthebarns
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kingsmen-fairtech-interiors-pvt-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Music in the Barns