The next generation of voices in Canadian classical music will have a new opportunity to learn musical and other skills over the next several weeks.
Shaping the Sound of the North is a collection of virtual seminar gatherings for emerging composers from across the country to network and learn from established voices.
“With everything that’s going on right now, we need something that brings us all together and that’s offered to Canadians,” says organizer and composer Anika-France Forget. “I realized there wasn’t a lot of stuff going on where I can get this information, so I was like, ‘Well, why not start something that’s meant for all Canadians?’”
Passing on knowledge
Over the course of six weeks, participants in Shaping the Sound of the North will be able to hear from established voices across the musical and geographic spectrum of Canada. Those voices include renowned Canadian composers Kelly-Marie Murphy (the incoming composer-in-residence with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra), Matthew Emery and Katherina Gimon.
Forget says that she structured the sessions based on what she wanted to hear as an emerging composer herself. “When I was thinking of this series, I just jotted down a bunch of questions that I had and of topics that I don’t even know where to start,” she says. “I didn’t really have a mentor to guide me or to give me all of these answers anymore. So, these are sessions where it’s something I would like to know.”
Some of the topics that will be covered will include how to build a career in composing music, creating collaborative opportunities with musical institutions, overcoming writer’s block when it comes to commissions, and utilizing engraving and musical software.
In addition to the diversity in the instructor’s knowledge base, Forget says that each of the instructors also brings a different perspective to share based on the communities that they create music in. “Having people from Canada, they’re all going to ave different people that they know and maybe different resources that’s based within their city or their province,” Forget explains. “That’s the awesome thing of having Canada-wide [instructors].”
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The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s incoming composer-in-residence Kelly-Marie Murphy will be one of the instructors in ‘Shaping the Sound of the North’. (Supplied)
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Unity in the face of uncertainty
The effort to support and unify emerging composers across the country comes in a moment when Canada’s cultural industries are once again facing down added challenges related to the ongoing tariffs imposed by the U.S. government. Forget says this latest flare up in the Canada-U.S. trade war was a major motivator to putting these sessions together for her fellow Canadian composers.
“Throughout the years, I was part of a couple of series like this that were offered worldwide and then you would get a bunch of people from the States or from Europe,” Forget explains, “but I was never a part of a just Canada-wide series. This is for Canadian composers, emerging composers and artists.”
The Shaping the Sound of the North series begins on September 8. The sessions are free, but registration is required. More information can be found at the series’ ticket page.