Photo by Blake Hannahson

Soundstreams 2018 Emerging Composers Workshop fosters creation of new concert music works

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday June 28th, 2018

The sixth annual edition of the Soundstreams Emerging Composers Workshop took place from May 30 to June 8, 2018, offering mentorship from two well-established, veteran concert music composers to six emerging ones, via workshops, masterclasses and seminars throughout that period.

The partricipating mentors were David Lang, from the U.S., who won the Pulitzer Prize for The Little Match Girl Passion, and Canadian (and SOCAN member) James Rolfe, best known for The Overcoat and I Think We Are Angels. The emerging composers were Alexandre David (Montreal), Joshua Denenberg (Cortlandt Manor, NY), Pierce Gradone (Chicago), Lieke van der Voort (Toronto), Tyler Versluis (Hamilton), and Christina Volpini (Hamilton).

The 10-day event culminated in a Soundstreams Main Stage presentation of the mentors’ works, The Little Match Girl Passion and I Think We Are Angels, followed by a showcase for the ECW participants  at Crow’s Theatre, where each composer presented their piece, as performed by an ensemble scored for voice, piano, cello, violin, and percussion.

For 2019, the 10-day workshop will be starting much earlier in order to accom modate mentor availability, so a new call for applications is expected in mid-July. Visit www.soundstreams.ca for more information.

Photo by Cameron Sarradet

SOCAN opens new Los Angeles office

Story by Howard Druckman | Friday June 29th, 2018

SOCAN held open house events to launch its brand-new Los Angeles office on June 26 and 28, 2018, and in between, held its fifth annual L.A. Family & Friends Canada Day Bash at the Sunset Marquis Hotel Pool Deck on June 27.

SOCAN L.A. Family & Friends Canada Day Bash 2018

The SOCAN L.A. Family & Friends Canada Day Bash at the Sunset Marquis Hotel Pool Deck on June 27, 2018. (Photo: @TheSupermaniak)

After months of careful analysis, planning, and renovations, SOCAN finally opened its new SOCAN L.A. office, at 8564 Washington Blvd., in Culver City. The vibrant, modern space, in the heart of the city’s creative hub, will serve as a centre for both local and visiting SOCAN members and industry stakeholders. With nearly 2,000 square feet of working space, a garage lounge meeting space, and a writing room (the “Sound Lounge”), courtesy of Native Instruments, our new L.A. office promises to be buzzing with new music from our talented members.

More than 150 local SOCAN member songwriters, screen composers, publishers, and others in the music industry ecosystem visited the new space during the open houses. Steven Ambers, SOCAN’s L.A.-based Director, International Development & Compliance, will now work out of the office, which will officially open to members on August 6, 2018. (Please note that the SOCAN House in Los Angeles will remain a separate facility, where our members can stay while working in the city.)

“I’m thrilled that we’ll be fully operational in L.A.,” says Michael McCarty, SOCAN Chief Membership & Business Development Officer. “Our goal has always been to present our members with opportunities to be heard and succeed. SOCAN’s new L.A. facilities allow us to use our experience and contacts to help SOCAN songwriters, publishers, and screen composers in the highly competitive L.A. music environment.”

Jeff Danna, Eric Baptiste, Michael McCarty

Jeff Danna accepts three 2018 SOCAN Awards for his work scoring the movies Storks and The Good Dinosaur. Left to right: SOCAN’s Michael McCarty, Danna, and SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. (Photo: @TheSupermaniak)

The L.A. SOCAN Family & Friends Canada Day Bash, which ran from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on June 27, drew more than 200 SOCAN members and key music industry representatives, with an event playlist custom-curated by Apple Music.

Just before the party started, we presented several 2018 SOCAN Awards to one of our #ComposersWhoScore, Jeff Danna, who was unable to attend the Toronto SOCAN Awards Gala on June 18. We also awarded our 2018 Screen Composer of the Year Keith Power, who attended the gala but didn’t receive his two other individual television awards there. Jeff Danna collected two International Film Music Awards, for his work on Storks and The Good Dinosaur, and also an Achievement in Feature Film Music Award for Storks with his brother Mychael Danna. Power received a Domestic TV Music Award – Fiction for his work on Heartland, and an International TV Series Music Award for MacGyver. Similarly, we presented a Domestic TV Music Award – Non-Fiction Award to Stephan Moccio for his work on SportsNet Central.

We also presented a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award to Murda Beatz for his contribution to Drake’s recent hit “Nice for What,” which reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on April 28, 2018, and Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip Hop Chart on May 19, 2018. Beatz co-wrote the song with Drake, and Murda’s share is published by Warner Chappell Music Canada.

Stephan Moccio, Eric Baptiste, Michael McCarty, Jamie Warren

Stephan Moccio accepts a 2018 SOCAN Award for his work scoring Sportsnet Central. Left to right: SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste, Moccio, SOCAN’s Michael McCarty, and Moccio’s manager Jamie Porter. (Photo: @TheSupermaniak)

In attendance at the party, in addition to the awards recipients, were Carole Pope, Esthero, Martin “Doc” McKinney, Jordan Evans, Jocelyn Alice, Will Perliter of Mixed Management, Amy Eligh from Arts & Crafts, Jodie Ferneyhough and Jordan Howard from CCS Rights Management, Ari Wise from Core Music, and representatives from ASCAP, GMR and SESAC.

Attending for SOCAN were SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste; Chief Membership and Business Development Officer Michael McCarty; Director, A&R, Rodney Murphy; Chief Québec Affairs Officer Genevieve Cote; Chief Operating Officer Jeff King; Director, International Business Development & Compliance, Steven Ambers; new SOCAN President-Elect Marc Ouellette; A&R Representatives Melissa Cameron-Passley (Toronto) and Racquel Villagante (Vancouver); National Events Manager Brandi Pickering; and Barbara Bruner, Manager, Workspace & Environment, who oversaw the development of the new SOCAN L.A. office.

 

 

 

 

Murda Beatz, Eric Baptiste, Michael McCarty, Rodney Murphy, Marc Ouellette, Cory Litwin

Murda Beatz accepts a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award for co-writing the Drake chart-topper “Nice for What.” Left to right: SOCAN’s Michael McCarty and CEO Eric Baptiste; Murda Beatz; SOCAN’s Rodney Murphy; Murda Beatz manager Cory Litwin, and new SOCAN President-Elect of the Board of Directors, Marc Ouellette. (Photo: Brandi Pickering)

Photo by Eric Parazelli

Denis Wolff awarded PMPA 2018 Prix Christopher J. Reed

Story by Eric Parazelli | Wednesday June 27th, 2018

On June 13, 2018 the Professional Music Publishers’ Association (PMPA) awarded its Christopher J. Reed to Montréal music publisher Denis Wolff.

Named after the influential music publisher who died in 2012, the Prix Christopher J. Reed is presented annually, since then, to an outstanding music publishing advocate. The honour recognizes one who’s demonstrated a high level of commitment to their profession, as well as to copyright compliance, and the rights of creators. The award presentation, organized by APEM with SOCAN support, took place in Montréal as part of the 2018 Rendez-vous Pros des Francos music festival.

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Denis Wolff got started in the music business as sub-publisher of the Beggars Banquet catalogue. In the 1990s, he joined Audiogram, Québec’s premium independent label, where he spent nearly 15 years in capacities ranging from VP of the Music Publishing Division, which he set up, to Director of Creative Services. He’s worked closely with artists such as the late Lhasa De Sela, Bran Van 3000, Loco Locass, and Pierre Lapointe.

In 2007, Wolff created Maisonnette, an agency  offering full film and television composition and production services, where he worked closely with a number of composers  (Jean Massicotte, Patrick Watson, Philippe Brault, Benoît Charest, Samuel Laflamme, Mathieu Vanasse, and more) whose original music he’s placed in more than 50 screen productions over the past few years.

In 2014, Denis Wolff partnered with Mary Catherine Harris to create Harris & Wolff, a one-stop, online, pre-cleared music library, catering to the film and TV market, among others. In 2017, Wolff launched Ray-On, an artist development and music services agency.

Wolff, who’s been a member of the PMPA Board of Directors since 2011, has also served on the boards of ADISQ (1998-2003), Musicaction (1999-2006), Fonds RadioStar (2001-2006, including President from 2004 to 2006 and Vice-President from 2001 to 2003), and SOPROQ (2004-2006). His industry awards include three consecutive ADISQ awards for Publisher of the Year (for Éditions Kaligram in 1997, 1998 and 1999) and the ADISQ award for Record Producer of the Year (for Jean Leloup’s Les Fourmis). Wolff was also the recipient of the inaugural SOCAN Publisher of the Year award, presented at the Montréal SOCAN Awards Gala in 2016.