MaMA’s Ma Cabane à Paname — Call For Applications

Story by Marie-Michèle Bouchard | Wednesday August 29th, 2018

The Francofolies de Montréal, FME, Festival d’été de Québec, M for Montréal, Osheaga, and MEG Montréal have all collaborated with the MaMA Festival & Convention to allow local artists to promote their work in Paris. This year, MaMA will take place Oct. 17-19, in the Pigalle district at the heart of Paris.

Each year, the MaMA Festival & Convention gathers more than 5,600 Francophone and international professionals and presents 100-plus shows and dozens of conferences. MaMA’s conferences are an opportunity for artists to network and create unique business opportunities with industry representatives. Each year, SOCAN has a strong presence at the event, and this year will be no exception.

To register, make sure you meet the following criteria:

  • the artist must be Canadian;
  • Save for certain exceptional cases, the artist must have launched an EP or album in the 18 months before the date of their showcase;
  • The artist must have undertaken the development of their career in France, and have a link with at least one professional structure recognized on the European market;
  • Ideally, the artist will have an album or an EP distributed, or about to be distributed, in France;
  • A press kit about the artist on the French territory must be submitted;
  • A backgrounder must also be submitted with the application;
  • It’s mandatory that the artist is accompanied by a representative for this trip.

If you meet all of the criteria, don’t hesitate to sign up using this link: Ma Cabane à Paname

Registration ends Sept. 7, 2018!

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame to induct Marcel Martel’s “Un coin du ciel”

Story by Nicholas Fedor | Thursday August 30th, 2018

Renée Martel will launch the 51st edition of the Festival Western de St-Tite by inducting her father Marcel Martel’s song “Un coin du ciel” into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF), honouring one of the greatest works of this Canadian country music pioneer.

“We’re happy to partner with our friends at Festival Western de St-Tite to honour ‘Un coin du ciel’ and bring this iconic song into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame,” says Vanessa Thomas, Executive Director of the CSHF.  “We’re thankful that Renée Martel is here to celebrate her father’s talent with us, and honour his legacy.”

To kick off the festival, Renée Martel will honour the song during her show, Je voulais marier, on Sept. 7, 2018, at the Desjardins Country Club. “La grande dame du country” will sing “Un coin du ciel,” the song that launched her career. “It’s the first song I sang onstage, when I was five years old, and I sang it with my father,” she says. “It’s my favourite song. If Dad were here today, it would be one of the most amazing moments of his life. I accept this with pride, but the honours are his alone, and I’m proud to be his daughter.”

Written and recorded in 1952, the country ballad “Un coin du ciel” kicked off a long family tradition. Several versions of the song became hits, notably the 1981 version on Renée Martel’s album Un coin du ciel and, more recently, the 2013 version sung by Renée and her mother, Noëlla Therrien.

The CSHF selected this song from Marcel Martel’s repertoire of more than 500 songs and 40-plus albums. Martel wrote “Un coin du ciel” shortly after leaving the sanatorium where he was being treated for tuberculosis. The original recording of this universal love song was very simple, and true to the purest country-and-western tradition.

One of the reasons the song was chosen is the impact that it’s had on other artists. Marcel Martel’s timeless classic has influenced many generations of Québec artists, including Patrick Norman, Paul Daraîche, and Isabelle Boulay – who, as a child, loved to hear the song on the radio. Contemporary country singer-songwriter René Turgeon says he’s one of the song’s biggest fans: “This music comes from the heart, it’s real, and it’s about actual feelings we carry inside us,” he says. “It’s deeply touching, profound music.”

Benoît Montreuil, who presides over the organizing committee of the 51st edition of the Festival Western de St-Tite, is proud to offer such a historic moment to his audience:  “I was thrilled when I heard the Hall of Fame and Renée had chosen our festival to host this unique moment,” he says. “Marcel Martel and Renée are two artists that are integral to our history, and they’re always welcome at our event. Everyone in the organization is thrilled that this induction will take place in a setting that’s so symbolic to their careers.”

Apply now for 2019 Soundstreams Emerging Composer Workshop

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday August 28th, 2018

SOCAN composers of all kinds are invited to apply now for Soundstreams’ 2019 Emerging Composer Workshop (ECW). The Workshop is a 10-day intensive mentorship program that supports talented young composers and helps them to launch their careers. The sixth edition of the ECW will take place January 25 through February 3, 2019, in Toronto.

The workshop focus is on strings this year, and participants will be tasked with composing a piece for a string quartet. The Rolston String Quartet will be this year’s ECW resident ensemble. Soundstreams’ ECW adopts a holistic model that features a vibrant array of rehearsals, seminars, networking, professional development activities, and a public showcase of new works created during the Workshop.

This year, the ECW mentors will be the award-winning, eclectic, prolific composer Dorothy Chang, and leading contemporary Nordic composer Rolf Wallin.

ECW welcomes both domestic and international submissions; six composers will be chosen to participate. Thanks to Soundstreams’ generous sponsors and donors, there are no tuition fees to attend the workshop, and participant accommodations are provided free of charge.

The submission deadline for applications is September 20, 2018 (at 11:59 pm ET). For more details, or to apply, click here.