Show Notes

Today's letter is "G"

Eps106 TRT 22:23

0:00 - Sponsor and welcome

1:36 - G is for Grab Their Attention

10:30 - Warmup / Performance / Clinic features a story about a warmup on a bus at 3:00AM

13:58 - G is for General Motors

19:01 - Listener Mail from Friend of the Podcast Mitchell

20:51 - Show close

It’s not just about hitting the right notes and rhythms…there are other components to a high caliber of performance! How do you grab the attention of your adjudicators!

Our Warmup / Performance / Clinic segment features a story from Cheryl Ferguson about a memorable performance and a warmup that led up to it…on a bus!

How did General Motors become the presenting sponsor for MusicFest Canada?  Past President Mark Wicken tells us!

Our Listener Mail segment features Friend of the Podcast (and frequent editor!) Mitchell…he once had a busy year pulling double-duty at the nationals and shares that memory with us!

Links:

Show transcript coming soon! 

Podcast email address:  podcast@musicfest.ca

Podcast homepage:  https://atozofmusicfestcanada.podbean.com

MusicFest Canada on Twitter and Instagram:  @musicfestcanada

Do you need information about MusicFest Canada or it's regional festivals?  Email us at info@musicfest.ca.

Are you interested in volunteering on the Production Team for the national festival of MusicFest Canada?  Email volunteers@musicfest.ca.

Producers of the A to Z of MusicFest Canada Podcast are Stephen Barden and Kim Vrieling.

Executive Producers are Jim Howard and Neil Yorke-Slader.

Music by Neil Yorke-Slader. Music performed by the Nepean All-City Jazz Band.

Sound editing and mixing by Stephen Barden and Mitchell Smith.

Show Notes

Today's letter is "E…and F!"

Eps105 “The Letters E & F” TRT 26:49

0:00 - Sponsor (Ellison Tours) and welcome

01:36 - Ellison Tours…”Without Whom”

10:41 - Warmup / Performance / Clinic feat. Jason Cain

12:59 - Advice for First Time Directors from Dan Austin, Carmella Luvisotto, Stacey Mortenson-Spokes, Vicki Cummings, John Chalmers and Cheryl Ferguson.

22:42 - Listener Mail 

26:52 - Show close

E is for Ellison Tours.  There are a few partners of the festival that must be included in the “Without Whom…” category.  Without Ellison Tours, many aspects of MusicFest Canada would just not be viable.  Not only is the company the name sponsor for the Honour Choral Ensemble but they are responsible for the travel and accommodations for thousands of MusicFest participants attending the national finals.

Our Warmup / Performance / Clinic segment features Jason Cain who played sax for Cawthra Park Secondary “back in the day”.

F is for First Time Directors and those are individuals who must feel a great deal of pressure tempered by their own excitement and that of their students.  We asked a number of music teachers to share some advice for their peers who might be “First-Time-Festers”.

Our Listener Mail segment is a pan-generational one! 

Links:

Show transcript will be available soon. 

Podcast email address:  podcast@musicfest.ca

Podcast homepage:  https://atozofmusicfestcanada.podbean.com

MusicFest Canada on Twitter and Instagram:  @musicfestcanada

Do you need information about MusicFest Canada or it's regional festivals?  Email us at info@musicfest.ca.

Are you interested in volunteering on the Production Team for the national festival of MusicFest Canada?  Email volunteers@musicfest.ca.

Producers of the A to Z of MusicFest Canada Podcast are Stephen Barden and Kim Vrieling.

Executive Producers are Jim Howard and Neil Yorke-Slader.

Music by Neil Yorke-Slader. Music performed by the Nepean All-City Jazz Band.

Sound editing and mixing by Stephen Barden and Mitchell Smith.

Show Notes

Today's letter is "D"

Eps104 “The Letter D” TRT 32:52

0:00 - Sponsor (Denis Wick) and Welcome

1:36 - EDI within MusicFest hosted by Kim Vrieling with Vicki Cummings, Colleen Oakleaf, Sheryl Meens, Sharon Fitzsimmins, Dr. Mark Hopkins, Pratik Gandhi, Colin Clarke and Kevin Merkley

19:38 - Warmup / Performance / Clinic feat. Colin Clarke

21:26 - The Six Degrees of Denny

28:36 - Listener Mail

31:11 - Show close

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are not just buzzwords but are at the heart of MusicFest’s plans for the next 50 years - at all levels.  Production Director Kim Vrieling is joined by past and current board members Vicki Cummings, Colin Clarke and Kevin Merkley, members of the senior production team Colleen Oakleaf and Sheryl Meens, Concert Band Division Chair Sharon Fitzsimmins, and members of the Repertoire Equity Committee Dr. Mark Hopkins and Pratik Gandhi.

Our Warmup / Performance / Clinic segment features a timely story, this time from the perspective of an adjudicator, Colin Clarke.

D is for…past MusicFest Canada President Denny Christianson.  Listen to tributes from Paul Read, John Chalmers, Pat LaBarbera, and Neil Yorke-Slader as we discover the many connections that Denny had to MusicFest and jazz education in general.

Our Listener Mail segment features a poignant festival memory from past participant and volunteer Edwin Huang.

Links:

Show transcript available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ps_XjVIFQEBuylUJoP524ssEq8P58it3/view?usp=sharing

Podcast email address:  podcast@musicfest.ca

Podcast homepage:  https://atozofmusicfestcanada.podbean.com

MusicFest Canada on Twitter and Instagram:  @musicfestcanada

Do you need information about MusicFest Canada or it's regional festivals?  Email us at info@musicfest.ca.

Are you interested in volunteering on the Production Team for the national festival of MusicFest Canada?  Email volunteers@musicfest.ca.

Producers of the A to Z of MusicFest Canada Podcast are Stephen Barden and Kim Vrieling.

Executive Producers are Jim Howard and Neil Yorke-Slader.

Music by Neil Yorke-Slader. Music performed by the Nepean All-City Jazz Band.

Sound editing and mixing by Stephen Barden and Mitchell Smith.

Today's letter is "C”

Eps103  “The Letter C” TRT 25:19

0:00 - Sponsor and welcome

1:36 - John Chalmers, Charles White, Frank Gnandt

7:19 - Warmup / Performance / Clinic

09:06 - A Global Problem. Insights from Kim Vrieling, J.F. Fauteux, Sharon Fitzsimmins, Vicky Cummings

21:21 - Listener Mail from a volunteer friend

23:43 - Show close

The Life & Times of Stage C. The home of the Choral and Contemporary Music division.  Interviews with Choral and Contemporary Music Chair, John Chalmers, past Chair Frank Gnandt and founding vocal jazz director Charles White.

Our Warmup / Performance / Clinic segment features a stage-appropriate Performance story from Mary Ann Fratia, former music teacher from Cawthra Park in Mississauga.  Then Dan Austin from GCVI in Guelph, Ontario visits again with a wonderful and foundational Clinic Room story.

C is for…well…yeah, you guessed it. 

How does an event like MusicFest Canada suddenly (VERY suddenly) move to an online environment in the face of a global pandemic?  Our Production Director, Kim Vrieling, and our Technical Director, J.F. Fauteux, tell us how they made it happen. It ends up that they might have been preparing for it for a few years.

Our Listener Mail segment features a fun story from an old volunteer friend of the festival.  Again, it happens to be stage-appropriate for this episode.  Now…where’s the closest pub?

Links:

Show transcript can be downloaded from:

Podcast email address:  podcast@musicfest.ca

Podcast homepage:  https://atozofmusicfestcanada.podbean.com

MusicFest Canada on Twitter and Instagram:  @musicfestcanada

Do you need information about MusicFest Canada or it's regional festivals?  Email us at info@musicfest.ca.

Are you interested in volunteering on the Production Team for the national festival of MusicFest Canada?  Email volunteers@musicfest.ca.

Producers of the A to Z of MusicFest Canada Podcast are Stephen Barden and Kim Vrieling.

Executive Producers are Jim Howard and Neil Yorke-Slader.

Music by Neil Yorke-Slader. Music performed by the Nepean All-City Jazz Band.

Sound editing and mixing by Stephen Barden and Mitchell Smith.

Today's letter is "B”

Eps102 "The Letter B" TRT 25:41

0:00 - Sponsor and welcome

1:36 - Sharon Fitzsimmins

9:46 - Warmup / Performance / Clinic

11:40 - Listener Mail 

13:40 - The Legendary Tommy Banks

20:43 - An Important Dinner

23:22 - Remembering a Friend

24:22 - Show close

What happens on Stage B? The home of Concert Bands, Orchestras, and Chamber Ensembles.  An interview with Concert Band Chair, Sharon Fitzsimmins on adjudicating, Canadian content, and the syllabus.

Our Warmup / Performance / Clinic segment features Dan Austin, band director at GCVI in Guelph, Ontario.  He speaks about leading his band from the warm-up room to the performance stage.

Our Listener Mail segment features an amazing Tommy Banks memory from Carmella Luvisoto

B is for Banks, Tommy Banks. 

Shared memories of the Hon. Tommy Banks from Paul Read, Bryan Stovell, Brian Lillos, and Jim Howard.

Links:

Show transcript can be downloaded from:

MF AtoZ 102 "B" As-Produced Script Feb21-2022.pdf 

Podcast email address:  podcast@musicfest.ca

Podcast homepage:  https://atozofmusicfestcanada.podbean.com

MusicFest Canada on Twitter and Instagram:  @musicfestcanada

Do you need information about MusicFest Canada or it's regional festivals?  Email us at info@musicfest.ca.

Are you interested in volunteering on the Production Team for the national festival of MusicFest Canada?  Email volunteers@musicfest.ca.

Producers of the A to Z of MusicFest Canada Podcast are Stephen Barden and Kim Vrieling.

Executive Producers are Jim Howard and Neil Yorke-Slader.

Music by Neil Yorke-Slader. Music performed by the Nepean All-City Jazz Band.

Sound editing and mixing by Stephen Barden and Mitchell Smith.

Today's letter is "A"

Eps101 “The Letter A” TRT 21:52

0:00 - Sponsor and welcome

1:36 - Associate Director of MusicFest and Instrumental Jazz Chairperson Neil Yorke-Slader:  Stage "A"

8:02 - Warmup / Performance / Clinic

9:40 - Stacey Mortenson-Spokes & Jim Howard: Adjudicators and Artists

15:02 - Choral & Contemporary Music Chairperson John Chalmers:  He goes a cappella about the early days of Concert Choirs

17:56 - Listener Mail

20:14 - Show close

The inaugural (full) episode of our podcast features a marquee of guests that get us started in style.  Associate Director of the Festival and Chairperson of the Instrumental Jazz Division, Neil Yorke-Slader from Nepean, Ontario, describes life on Stage "A" where instrumental jazz lives.  He provides the perspective of participant and festival executive and goes so far as to compare a visit to Stage "A" to attending a hockey game!  You did catch the word "Canada" in our name, right?

Our Warmup / Performance / Clinic segment features participant stories from festivals past.  This week we hear about the brush with greatness that a participant had years ago and the advice that was bestowed upon her.  Spoiler:  She still follows that advice today!

A chat with music teacher Stacey Mortenson-Spokes from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Festival Executive Director Jim Howard is a deep dive into the world of Adjudicators and Artists that have taken part in the festival over the years.  Stacey has nothing but admiration for our adjudicators and Jim is still an excited audience member when he describes an on-stage musical battle between two giants of their instruments in 1997!

John Chalmers, the Chairperson of the Choral and Contemporary Division looks back on the introduction of Concert Choirs to the festival and recounts interesting stories of even more interesting venues in which those choirs performed in their early days.

Our Listener Mail segment features festival memories from a rock star and a heartfelt tribute to a lasting impression of the event from a long-standing festival friend.

Links:

Show transcript can be downloaded from:  MF AtoZ 101 "A" As-Produced Script Feb14-2022.pdf

Podcast email address:  podcast@musicfest.ca

Podcast homepage:  https://atozofmusicfestcanada.podbean.com

MusicFest Canada on Twitter and Instagram:  @musicfestcanada

Do you need information about MusicFest Canada or it's regional festivals?  Email us at info@musicfest.ca.

Are you interested in volunteering on the Production Team for the national festival of MusicFest Canada?  Email volunteers@musicfest.ca.

Producers of the A to Z of MusicFest Canada Podcast are Stephen Barden and Kim Vrieling.

Executive Producers are Jim Howard and Neil Yorke-Slader.

Music by Neil Yorke-Slader. Music performed by the Nepean All-City Jazz Band http://www.nacjb.com/.

Sound editing and mixing by Stephen Barden and Mitchell Smith.

The first trailer...a teaser really...for our new podcast!

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