What's Your Forte?

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.)

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 , 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.

“We call it playing for a reason!” What’s Your Forte returns for Season 4! Our first guest this season is Adina V, a singer-songwriter, teacher and Humber College grad based in Toronto. On this episode, she and Sandy discuss her favourite artists, unique journey into music and give some much-needed advice to budding guitarists everywhere.

A previous Play A Gig guest, Adina V is a singer-songwriter whose style ranges from catchy indie-rock tunes to introspective folk ballads. She recently graduated with honours from Humber College’s Bachelor of Music program and has been teaching music and performing around the GTA ever since.

Her original music has caught the attention of many and this past year she won both a songwriting award and a MARTY from the Mississauga Arts Council. Merging 90s-infused nostalgia with intimate folk songs, she takes a conversational approach to lyricism while singing about love, loss and being a young adult in today's day and age. She has an EP as well as three singles available on all streaming platforms, with more to come in the near future!

Lee Willingham is our guest for episode 10 of What’s Your Forte’s Season Three!

Dr. Lee Willingham is the Professor of Music Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he runs the Music Education program, the Master of Arts program in Community Music and the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community. He co-authored the 2017 book “Engaging in Community Music, An Introduction” as well as the 2021 edited volume “Community Music at the Boundaries”.

Lee was editor of the Canadian Music Educators' Association/ACME's journal The Canadian Music Educator/Musicien éducator au Canada for ten years and co-edited the book “Creativity and Music Education”. He is a past president and honourary life member of the OMEA - Ontario Music Educators' Association. We are delighted to talk to Lee about his musical journey, research in the field and community music.

This week’s guest on What’s Your Forte is Tim Louis! Currently the Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga, Tim Louis is also an award-winning songwriter and musician. His constant writing and recording - four albums and counting - have created a collection of original tunes. He has performed in solo shows and small jazz combos, as the guest vocalist for the Canadian Big Band, and has arranged and orchestrated scores for his performances with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Whether putting on shows for the Canadian Armed Forces overseas, touring Canada coast-to-coast or performing right here at home, Tim has gained a deeper appreciation for the values that make us proud to be Canadian. He currently sits on the Heritage Committee and is a strong advocate for the arts sector.

Dr. Chris Cigolea is our guest for episode eight of What’s Your Forte Season 3! Chris is the Music Director and Conductor of the Guelph Concert Band, Music Director for St. John’s-Kilmarnock School and C.I.G. School of the Performing Arts, and enjoys a busy international performing schedule as a trumpet player, guest conductor and clinician.

Born in Romania, Chris studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest before moving to Canada in 1996. He completed his Master of Music in Performance in 2001 and his Doctoral of Musical Arts in 2014 at the University of Toronto. Chris is the recipient of the 2016 Guelph Mayor’s Award, founding conductor of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra and founder of Focsani Blues Festival. He is also the inventor of the Staccator, the only practice tool that allows wind and brass players to practice articulation techniques without an instrument.

Fun fact - Band Camp Grand River is being hosted at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School this summer! Registration is now open for kids in grades 1-12 this July.

Available on anchor.fm/bandology or wherever you like to listen!

Steve Butterworth joins for episode 6 of Season 3 of What’s Your Forte!

Steve is a music industry professional with an extensive background in music education, performance and business leadership in marketing. His education includes Jazz Studies at Humber College and a B.A in Music from McMaster University where he studied conducting and music education.

Steve served with the Naval Reserve Band at HMCS Star for more than two decades as a section leader, soloist and conductor with the National Band of the Naval Reserve / Musique Nationale de la Réserve Navale. He was a founding director of the Ontario Band Association and serves on the board of advisors for Humber Music.

He remains active as a clinician for brass performance, concert band and jazz bands as well as adjudicating in regional music festivals and performing with R&B band The Community Soul Project. Steve is the Vice President of Yamaha Canada Music Ltd. Musical Instruments Group.

Join us for an Interview Series premiere featuring Bill and Shana Bates, co-owners of KAOS Music Centre! KAOS Music is both a music store and school with locations in Etobicoke and Oakville, Ontario. Bill started the business in 1989 and it has evolved into a first-class music equipment store and one of the west end’s most successful music schools. Along the way, he met his wife Shana, who has helped improve his business with her ongoing support and advice. After getting her degree in music education from the University of Western Ontario, Shana created, developed and ran one of the city's most successful, independent recording studios with a previous partner. Since selling her portion of the studio, Shana now spends her days as a homeschooling mom and business owner. Tune in to hear all about their journey of creating and growing their music school.