Today, we’re speaking with Laurier alum Mason Micevski on the importance of arts education, getting a Masters degree and the value of community. Mason Micevski is a recent graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Masters in Community Music. Apart from his studies, he is a professional musical theatre performer, playwright and the Creative Director of Emerson Arts in Hamilton, Ontario. Mason has danced with the National Ballet. and performed on stages from Niagara to Belleville. He is also the creator of the best selling book ‘The Stage Light Flickers.’ Facebook: facebook.com/BandologyCA Instagram: instagram.com/bandologyca TikTok: tiktok.com/@bandologyca Apple Music: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AdF8rn... YouTube: / @bandologyca #SpotifyPodcast #ApplePodcast #YouTubePodcast #MusicPodcast #MusicInterview #MusicianInterview #Interview #Podcast #MusicMajor #PostSecondary #UniversityLife #MusicEd #MusicEducation
It’s time for another episode of What’s Your Forte!
Today, Tamara Djuknic speaks with Olivia Vaughan, a graduate of Western University’s Bachelor of Arts program, double majoring in English and Music. Olivia provides useful insights for students who are passionate about music but may not want a career in it. And you won’t want to miss her tips on dealing with the workload of being a double major!
Passionate about music but not interested in becoming a music teacher or a performer? Erin White received her Bachelor’s of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, but now she’s preparing to become a lawyer! In this insightful conversation with Tamara Djuknic, Erin talks about how her background in music made her stand out as a law student at the University of Ottawa and how studying music has changed her life.
This is a great episode of the podcast that you definitely won’t want to miss!
It’s time for another episode of What’s Your Forte! In this captivating episode, Tamara speaks with percussionist Madison Keats about what it means to really lean into your craft. Madison also delves into the heart of percussion ensembles, sharing her profound insights on the value of teamwork and trusting your fellow percussionists.
Madison Keats (she/her) describes her interest in music beginning with a feeling of finally fitting in and strives to ensure she conveys that feeling to everyone she meets. As a female percussionist she hopes to inspire girls to take a chance on percussion and aspires to make music more accessible to larger audiences. Madison holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance with a minor in Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University. Madison has participated in many clinics, seminars, and ensembles such as WASBE (World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) Youth Wind Orchestra, Stratford Symphony, and Torq Percussion Seminar, among others. Using her various experiences, Madison hopes to inspire the next generation of musicians.
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Welcome back to another season of What's Your Forte? This season is all about different and unique careers someone can have with a background in music. To kick off the season, Tamara Djuknic interviewed Karen and Sara, two music therapy students at Laurier University.
Sara Thoeny (all pronouns) is a music educator, performer and composer. Sara has been playing piano since the age of five years old and has since learned to play guitar, ukulele, double bass and French horn. Sara has completed RCM level 10 piano and is working on her Community Music/Music Therapy degree at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is originally from Langley, B.C., and has performed in group settings in Hawaii, the Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo, the 25th Annual Stratford Music Festival, Kiwanis Music Festival, Fort Langley Jazz Festival and many other festivals and music events across Canada and the United States.
Karen Guan (she/her) is a Music Therapy student at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her journey with music started at the age of 5 and has continued to grow ever since. She has played the flute in many concert bands over the years and enjoys singing various styles of music in choirs across Ontario. Karen also sings in an acapella ensemble and has been the president of this group since 2023.
On our last episode of 2023, Sandy and Ryan talk about the lessons they learned in 2023 and preview the exciting things to come at Bandology in 2024!
On our penultimate episode of What’s Your Forte? for 2023, Sandy and Ryan, our Community Programs Manager, sit down and review Bandology’s best year yet and answer questions from our Executive Director Lisa Michaels. Part Two comes out on Saturday, December 30, 2024. (Pictured, L-R: Ryan MacKinnon, Sandy Wright and Sara Thoeny, our Programming Team.)
Our guest this week is Amanda Kind, the Artistic Director of KW Glee, as well as a singer, songwriter, and commercial and musical theatre voice teacher based in Waterloo! She joins Sandy on What’s Your Forte? to talk about her unique career path and the importance of lifelong learning. Watch now on YouTube or listen on your preferred podcast platform!
Amanda has released a wide variety of music including country singles “Slow Dance” (#1 on SiriusXM Top of the Country), “The Good Fight” and many others. She is a member of the Songwriter’s Association of Canada, SOCAN, and the Canadian Country Music Association. She spent her teenage years obsessed with everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Shania Twain to Broadway, so it’s no wonder that she has sung everything from opera, jazz and musical theatre to pop, rock and country.
As an evidence-based commercial voice specialist, Amanda works with a broad range of clients including professional singers, label and indie artists and aspiring performers in many genres. She teaches commercial music at Wilfrid Laurier University and has been a guest lecturer, adjudicator and workshop facilitator for many other music education programs. Amanda is on the board for the National Association of Teachers of Singing in Ontario.
Her education includes a Musical Theatre Diploma from Canadian College of Performing Arts, a music certificate from Kwantlen College, a Bachelor's degree from the University of Waterloo, and professional development in vocal pedagogy at the Boston Conservatory, Shenandoah University (Levels, I, II, II at the CCM Institute) and Evidence-Based Pedagogy certification from MTVS. For more about Amanda, visit www.amandakind.com.
This week we welcome Dr. Rebekah Jordan-Miller to our What’s Your Forte? podcast! Rebekah is the Director of the Laurier Academy of Music and Arts (LAMA) and an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Music (WLU). She joins our Education Manager Sandy Wright to talk about her journey in music, the importance of music education and our collaboration on March Break Music Camp! Rebekah is a seasoned piano pedagogue, accredited music therapist and pianist who has performed widely, both as a soloist and collaborative artist throughout Canada, the United States, Austria, Australia and Norway. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, a Masters degree in Music Therapy from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to her role as Director, Rebekah is a music therapist and piano instructor at LAMA, as well as a contract faculty member of music therapy courses at WLU. Her current music therapy practice at LAMA consists of a diverse client population with everything from adapted music lessons for children with cognitive and/or physiological challenges to Neurological Music Therapy sessions for adults with traumatic brain injuries. Rebekah is an active adjudicator, RCM examiner and clinician. She previously held academic positions at Oklahoma City University, Shorter University in Rome, Georgia and Western University in London, Ontario.
Our season finale of What’s Your Forte, with special guest Cynthia Johnston Turner, is out now! She and Sandy talk about her journey from small-town Ontario to conducting bands with jets flying overhead, ways you can differentiate yourself as an artist and the best parts of being the Dean of Laurier’s Faculty of Music.
The first in her family to attend university, Cynthia received her B.Mus. and B.Ed. from Queen’s University, a M.Ed. at the University of Victoria and a D.M.A. (Conducting) from the Eastman School of Music. She has received numerous teaching, research, and leadership awards in Canada and the United States.
Cynthia was appointed Dean—Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University on July 1, 2021. She also oversees the Laurier Academy of Music and the Arts, a community-based school serving hundreds of children and their families in the region.
Cynthia has guest conducted bands, music ensembles and orchestras at several universities and conservatories as well as state honor bands in the United States and abroad. She continues to actively promote commissions by today’s leading and emerging composers around the world with a focus on underrepresented voices. She is published in several notable journals and has recorded CDs with the Innova and Albany labels. Cynthia has served as a board member with the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) and currently serves on the board of the Western International Band Clinic (WIBC).
This week, Kathryn talks to oudist and quantum computing student Manar Naeem about her earliest experiences in music, favourite career moments and the importance of music education. Listen now or watch on YouTube or Facebook!
Manar Naeem is a self-taught, Syrian-born oudist. She graduated with a physics degree with math and computer science minors from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is now pursuing her Master's degree in Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. Manar performs with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra, and works as an oud teacher for children and adults at the Canadian Arabic Conservatory of Music. In 2020, she was the first oudist to be featured in CBC's 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30 list. Manar has performed across Canada and experienced first-hand how music is a global language of love that can bring different cultures and communities together.
Conductor Colin Clarke joins us this week on What’s Your Forte, out now on YouTube, Facebook and wherever you get your podcasts!
A sought-after clinician and adjudicator, Colin is best known for his work with the multi-award winning Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra. Having started the ensemble as a high school student, today TWYO enjoys a reputation nationwide as one of the leading performance ensembles of its kind in Canada. Under Colin’s baton, it has performed internationally, including at Carnegie Hall. This summer, they performed a concert with the National Youth Band of Canada.
Colin is the newly-appointed Artistic Director of the Oscar Peterson Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. As the Music Director of the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra, his ensemble uses the same facility as our Band Camps!
Photo by Stuart Lowe/Royal Conservatory of Music.
This special episode of What's Your Forte? is a group interview on the many ways to work in the music industry! Our guests today are at different stages of their music careers, and talk about their winding paths towards what they do, a typical day at work and the most exciting (and most challenging) aspects of their work.
Meet our panelists:
Michael Yates (he/him) is a dedicated educator who has worked for the Halton District School for the past nine years. He designed and implemented an instrumental music program built around high standards, engagement and student excellence. Michael's musical journey began at Mohawk College where he completed a three-year diploma in jazz performance. In 2011, he obtained his Honours Bachelors of Music from McMaster University and completed his B.Ed. at Nipissing University in 2013. Michael is currently teaching Grade 6/7/8 instrumental music at Pilgrim Wood Public School, and is also a steady gigging musician in the GTHA.
Shana Bates (she/her) and her husband own KAOS Music Lesson Studios, a community-centric music school located in southeast Oakville. Shana started her working career with IBM but quickly moved into the world of recording studios where she and a previous partner created, developed and ran one of the city's most successful independent recording studios. Shana went on to work in the event production business. Shana now spends her days and nights as a full time mom and business owner. She is a community go-getter and can often be found volunteering at schools and working at various events in the community.
Ryan MacKinnon (he/him) is the Camp and Workshop Coordinator with Bandology, an Oakville-based music non-profit, and teaches privately and with the Burlington Teen Tour Band. Ryan started playing guitar at eight years old and switched over to drum kit when he was 10. Upon entering high school he found a new love in playing classical percussion instruments and completed a Bachelor of Music in Self-Directed Performance at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has played with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, Stratford Symphony Orchestra and Grand Philharmonic Choir. Ryan loves to share all the things that he has learned on his journey to help young musicians excel.
Our newest interview is out! This week, Lucas talks to Dr. Draw about his busking origins, the music that moves him and what some of his favourite performances are. Watch now or listen to What’s Your Forte on your favourite podcasting platform!
Dr. Draw is the stage name of Moscow-born and Israel-raised electric violinist Eugene Draw. After moving to Canada with his family in 1992, Dr. Draw learned his craft busking on the streets of Toronto. For more than two decades, he has regularly performed internationally, including at the World Trade Center 9/11 memorial, the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Sovereign Art Foundation’s Art Fund in Hong Kong. Dr. Draw has also opened for many artists including John Legend, Mariah Carey and Drake.
Dr. Draw recently composed a song for Canada’s National Ballet School’s country-wide initiative Sharing Dance. He has assisted in the scoring of several independent films and for projects including the BBC documentary ‘Death on the I-95’ about the U.S. opioid crisis.
In 2022 Dr. Draw is releasing two more albums including a debut album for his project Nemesis, with Canadian beatboxing champion Scott Jackson, featuring sound ranging from Middle Eastern-influenced folk music to old school hip hop to Mongolian chant. They performed at Parliament Hill for the Canada 150 celebrations, at the Montreal Grand Prix and for the half-time show at the Toronto Raptors’ infamous Game 7 buzzer-beater in 2019.
#Bandology #TalentedMusicians #YoutubeMusic #FacebookLive #MusicPodcast #TorontoMusic #CanadianMusic #Podcast ##electricviolin
On this week's episode of What's Your Forte, Kathryn talks to guest Rachel Campbell about her life growing up around music, why she loves playing in so many different genres and the importance of putting yourself out there. Rachel is a musician from Alexandria, ON, who plays a variety of instruments including the harp, violin, piano, mandolin, voice and guitar. She plays in bands that range from celtic punk to classical as well as performing solo as an indie folk-rock artist. Rachel has performed in venues all over, ranging from Montreal to Toronto, and she teaches music in a local music school. She also collaborates with musicians around the world, co-writing and recording songs. With a deep love for music, she’s always happy to share any of her experiences in the music field, as well as learn from others. #Bandology #Podcast #WhatsYourForte
Today we are incredibly excited to be releasing an interview with Tyler Shaw for the latest episode of What’s Your Forte! This week, Tyler chats to Lucas about his tour routines, songwriting process and favourite concerts. Check it out on YouTube and Facebook (link in stories)!
Tyler Shaw is a multi-Platinum-selling artist, producer, and actor. The Chinese-Canadian musician from Vancouver released his hit song “Kiss Goodnight” in 2012, quickly hitting Platinum sales. In 2014, Tyler earned a JUNO Award nomination for ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’ and released certified Platinum track “House of Cards” and Gold “Wicked” from his 2015 debut album Yesterday.
Tyler’s breakout hit “With You,” from his 2018 sophomore album, Intuition, reached Double Platinum status, and he was nominated for a JUNO Award for ‘Pop Album of the Year’ in 2019. Shaw has opened for massive international artists, including Shawn Mendes and Alessia Cara, and toured with Selena Gomez. In 2021, Tyler spearheaded (with Fefe Dobson) the collective artist initiative ArtistsCAN to raise funds for COVID-19 relief in Canada. The pair gathered other musicians from across the country, including Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé and Marie-Mai, to cover the classic single “Lean On Me,” with proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross COVID relief fund. Tyler’s eponymous third studio album was released in 2021 and features the top 10 hit pop single “I See You.”
Most recently, Tyler released his viral rendition of GAYLE’s No. 1 hit “abcdefu.” “Love You Still” (abcdefu Romantic Version), started as a TikTok duet in late January. To date there are over 4 billion views of videos with the audio on TikTok, 14.5 million streams and more than 1 million videos created using the song.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tyler-Shaw-Photoshoot-Cover.jpg
Mwik10, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
“The thing about music, there’s this nurturing of our souls.”
Karen Donnelly, principal trumpet for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, is our guest on What’s Your Forte this week! She and Kathryn talk about touring Canada, the moment she realized the depth to which music could impact you, the best gig she’s ever seen and some key advice for the next generation of players.
Karen Donnelly was unanimously appointed principal trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in October 1999, following three successful seasons as acting principal trumpet, and continues to enjoy playing with this wonderful ensemble. A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Karen started the trumpet in elementary school, which propelled her into a Bachelor of Arts in Music at the University of Regina, followed by a Master of Music degree at McGill University. While freelancing in Montreal, she quickly became in demand, performing with many ensembles in the area including the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
Karen has given master classes and workshops in Europe, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and coast-to-coast in Canada. She is part of the coaching team for both the trumpet section and chamber music for Canada’s National Youth Orchestra. In 2002, she joined the teaching staff at the University of Ottawa, and has been assisting with their Orkidstra program, inspired by Sistema, since 2009.
Most recently, Karen spearheaded the Canadian Women’s Brass Collective. This group of talented musicians presented concerts, master classes and lectures in Toronto during January 2019 over a five-day conference to great acclaim. During the pandemic, the collective curated an extensive series of online sessions to support musicians to create healthy and effective practice strategies.
Our guest this week is JUNO-award winning drummer Ernesto Cervini. He and Kirsten talk about the best gigs he’s ever played, winning an award during a pandemic and the inspirations for his next album. He also gives his best advice on practicing and avoiding comparing yourself to others, and talks about the ways in which music makes a difference for students. Watch now on YouTube (link in stories)!
Juno Award winner Ernesto Cervini is a sought-after drummer, composer and bandleader and an influential presence on Canada’s modern jazz scene and beyond. He has documented his vision with the Ernesto Cervini Quartet (featuring Joel Frahm), the innovative sextet Turboprop, numerous co-led trio projects including MEM3, Myriad3 and TuneTown, and also the quartet Tetrahedron, featuring acclaimed guitarist Nir Felder, electric bassist Rich Brown and alto saxophonist Luis Deniz.
Ernesto’s album Abundance won the 2020 Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Group. In addition to his performing career, he founded Orange Grove Publicity in 2014 and has quickly become one of the most sought-after jazz publicists in Canada. He is also co-founder of Three Pines Records and is on faculty at the University of Toronto.
Shaun and Naomi from The Queer Songbook Orchestra are our guests on What’s Your Forte this week! They chat to Kathryn and Kirsten about the importance of music in building an uplifting community, as well as the ensemble’s history and their new Queer Songbook Youth Orchestra program. They also give advice on charting a career in music and geek out about jazz, My Chemical Romance and their favourite gigs. If you’d like to play with the youth orchestra, check out queersongbook.com/qsyo.
Founded by Shaun in 2014, the Queer Songbook Orchestra is a 14-piece chamber pop ensemble dedicated to expressing and uplifting 2SLGBTQ+ narratives, while providing opportunities for mentorship and other supports to queer, trans, questioning and allied youth. A collaborative, community-based project, the Queer Songbook Orchestra have worked with 200+ collaborators, toured extensively throughout Canada and were longlisted for the 2018 Polaris Prize for their collaborative album with Vivek Shraya. Watch it on YouTube, and subscribe for more!
Shaun Brodie (he/him) is a classically trained trumpet player with a performance degree from the University of Victoria, and extensive experience as a session and freelance musician. Performing live and in-studio with acts such as Basia Bulat, Broken Social Scene, Father John Misty and many others, Shaun has toured internationally and appeared on a wide spectrum of stages including The Late Show with David Letterman and the Glastonbury Festival.
Naomi McCarroll-Butler (she/her/ze/zir) is a saxophonist, clarinetist and instrument maker from Toronto. She is interested in the overtone series, breathwork in the unique somatic journey of trans and gender-non-conforming people, and the creation of aural trance environments. An active collaborator, Naomi plays with many artists including Jeremy Dutcher, and her work as a composer and improviser has been featured by the Canadian Music Centre, Women From Space Festival and the Guelph Jazz Festival. Her piece CHRYSALIS was premiered in July as the Artist in Residence for the 2022 Toronto Jazz Festival.
