Photo by courtesy of/courtoisie de Soundstreams. James Lowrie (left/à gauche), Haotian Yu (right/à droite).

Six music creators chosen for 2019 Soundstreams Emerging Composer Workshop

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday November 29th, 2018

SOCAN composers James Lowrie and Haotian Yu are among the six music creators chosen to participate in Soundstreams’ 2019 Emerging Composer Workshop (ECW). The other four participating composers are Yiguo Li (China), Angela Elizabeth Slater (U.K.), Harriet Steinke (U.S.), and Tze Yeung Ho (Norway/Canada). This year, the ECW mentors will be Norway’s Rolf Wallin and Canada’s Dorothy Chang, with the Rolston String Quartet as the resident ensemble.

The seventh annual edition of the ECW will take place Jan. 24 to Feb. 3, 2019, in Toronto. The emerging composers’ new pieces will be showcased and performed by the Rolston String Quartet, at a public concert at the Alliance Française in Toronto, on Feb. 1, 2019. Tickets are available here.

The Workshop is a 10-day intensive mentorship program that supports talented young composers and helps them to launch their careers. 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. For more details, click here.

SOCAN Foundation announces participants for new development program

Story by SOCAN | Monday December 3rd, 2018

The SOCAN Foundation has announced the participants for its inaugural TD Creative Entrepreneur Incubator. “The program is designed to foster high-potential music creators, and to help them evolve their passion and talent into a sustainable career,” said Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of the SOCAN Foundation.

After reviewing nearly 1,000 submissions, the Foundation was pleased to announce that the following music creators have been accepted into the TD Creative Entrepreneurial Incubator Program:

  • Julie Austin, Ontario
  • Laura Babin Rioux, Québec
  • James Bailey, Ontario
  • Justin Boissonault, Ontario
  • Marvin Chan, Saskatchewan
  • Kassandra Clack, British Columbia
  • Desiree Dawson, British Columbia
  • Domanique Grant, Ontario
  • Aliah Guerra, Quebec
  • Madmoud Ismail, Ontario
  • Bella Krys, Ontario
  • Dante Leon, Ontario
  • Madeline Ritter, Ontario
  • Jon Saldanha, British Columbia
  • Dave Sampson, Nova Scotia
  • Connor Seidel, Québec
  • Linnea Siggelkow, Ontario
  • Annie Sumi, Ontario
  • Vincent Turcotte, Québec
  • Joanna Worthington, Ontario

Each participant in the program will receive:

  • A cash grant of up to $3,000, intended to defray start-up costs (such as those spent on marketing, business development, branding, etc.)
  • Mentorship by an industry professional, including Adrian X (musician/producer/songwriter, Drake, PARTYNEXTDOOR), Amy Eligh (Arts & Crafts), Joe Ferrari (Sony Music), and Emily Smart (Six Shooter Records), among many more.
  • Access to an exclusive webinar series led by industry professionals and experts, to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit of the participants.

This new SOCAN Foundation program was made possible with the generous support of TD.  “Music has the power to strengthen communities by connecting people.,” said Valerie Picher, Associate Vice-President, Community Relations at TD Bank Group. “We’re excited to partner with SOCAN Foundation to support the TD Creative Entrepreneur Incubator program, through our global corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment. This program will empower music creators from all backgrounds to develop the necessary skills to enhance music creation and sharpen their entrepreneurial abilities, so music continues to enrich our lives in a sustainable way.”

Visit www.creativeincubator.ca/participantsca for more information about the program, and to meet the participants.

Photo by SOCAN

SOCAN’s Racquel Villagante reaches out to our members in Alberta

Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday November 28th, 2018

SOCAN A&R Representative Racquel Villagante reached out to our members in Alberta with a week-long tour that connected them with us, and with each other.

On Nov. 13, Villagante drew a full house at a “SOCAN 101” information session at the ATB Financial (Alberta Treasury Branches) Branch for Arts & Culture in Edmonton, co-ordinated by Allison Myggland from Alberta Music. Attendee Mike Nash, from Edmonton band The Prairie States (who made the Top Three in Project Wild), was thrilled to learn about the SOCAN House in Nashville, and was also very interested in our song camps and song house events.

The next stop for a “SOCAN 101” was the Red Deer Memorial Centre, again co-ordinated by Myggland. Red Deer Arts Council members attended, in order to learn more about how we help to support music creators in their community. One of the songwriters who came out after teaching vocal lessons, Kayla Williams, said she was very grateful for info on how to claim royalties from live performances. After the presentation, Teresa Neuman from the council e-mailed Villagante to say, “The information presented was excellent, and we really appreciated the opportunity to host you and benefit from your expertise.”

The third and final info session was on Nov. 17 at the Alberta Electronic Music Conference (AEMCON), an annual event gathering artists, producers, DJs, and music industry people from all over the world. Our well-attended afternoon session was held in Studio Bell, at the National Music Centre in Calgary. One of the DJ/producers who attended, Tyler Martens of Stickybuds, called our Info Centre afterwards to say he was very appreciative of the learning experience. Calgary-based producer Jack Trades e-mailed to say he was “really excited to be working with SOCAN, and be a part of all the upcoming events and opportunities in the future.”

That night, Villagante attended the AEMCON-sponsored Beat Battle, hosted by 10at10. Thirty-two competitors showcased their production skills as they battled each other for a $1,000 prize. The winner was Creeasian, and first runner-up was Jon Mario of DayxNight, and all of the participating beat-makers enjoyed great support from organizers, judges, and fans.

After a strong week of SOCAN education and building new connections, SOCAN plans to continue supporting Alberta’s diverse, vibrant music scene.