The Phonograph - Spring 2012

12
February 2012 Vol 10 Issue 3 Published by the Music Undergraduate Students’ Association www.mcgillmusa.com

description

The Spring Issue of MUSA's Phonograph

Transcript of The Phonograph - Spring 2012

Page 1: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

February 2012 Vol 10 Issue 3

Published by the Music Undergraduate Students’ Association

www.mcgillmusa.com

Page 2: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph2 February 2012

Table of Contents

Recipes for the Lazy ...3Letter from the MUSA President ...3LaTourelle Orkestra @ Le Divan Orange ...4Funking for Change ...5Heart of the City: Planting the seeds of hope, one lesson at a time ...6Music: Something for Everyone (CMWB) ...7Sudoku ...7Don Giovanni in Review ...8The Castle on the Hill ...8What Next? ...9Classical Revolution ...11

In lieu of the usual editorial, I have decided to put in this wonderfully diverting, anonymous cartoon. I think it will be more welcome in these stressed times than my ramblings, anyway. Happy practicing!~EJP

Page 3: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph 3 February 2012

With electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks start to form when you lift the mixer, then gradually add the sugar while whipping. It’s ready when stiff peaks form.

For the lazy ones: dip the fruits in the cream.

For the not-so-lazy ones: cut the fruits in small pieces, fill small bowls halfway with fruit, and top with cream.

Recipes for the LazyMeiying Li

We are all busy. We are all hungry. Thus this article.

No name snack (AKA the egg/milk thing):

- 1 egg- 1/4 cup milk- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of sweetener of choice: sugar, hon-ey, maple syrup, etc.

Crack the egg in a microwavable bowl, beat for 30 seconds, add the milk and mix well, microwave for 45-60 seconds. Top with sweetener. Voilà.

*It should be of a soft Jell-O consistency. For best results ac-cording to your microwave, try varying the amount of milk and heating time.

Whipped cream and fruits

- 1 to 2 cups of 35% whipping cream 1 cup for 2 people2 cups for 4+ people OR for 2 people to stay full for 24 hours (choose wisely)- 1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, cherries, grapes, or whatever that’s in your fridge (be creative)

Letter from the MUSA President

Hey there, Schulich School of Music,

Second semester is already flying by; midterms and reading week are already upon us. This can be the most fun, but also the most stressful time of year, as we realize its only a few months until final exams and recitals! We only have two months left, but it is going to be a great rest of term. MUSA has many upcoming events, including Clus-terphunk 2.0 and Faculty Olympics. Hopefully we’ll see you all there!

Several positions on MUSA are opening up for the 2012-2013 school year. If you’re interested in becoming in-volved, don’t hesitate to ask any of us about our jobs!

On a more serious note, this has been a recently unprecedented year for unrest on campus. The ongoing discussion on the importance and form of free expression and dissent at McGill is an important topic for all of us as students. I encourage all of you to participate in consultation and discourse on these issues, as it will be an invaluable asset to the formation of new policies at the university. As always, MUSA is here to answer your questions and listen to anything that you have to say on the issues. Please stop by our office (E-106) for more info.

Stay Classy,

[email protected]

Photo by Arjun Mehta

Page 4: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph4 February 2012

served as important melodic figures or as blistering solos high-lighting certain sections of each tune, but not necessarily the players themselves (in contrast to what is often seen in jazz). In this regard, the horn section of the band was particularly outstanding. During most of the songs, the horns played small melodic motifs that embellished the main theme- providing the tunes with peppy spurts of energy without drawing attention to themselves. However, once in a while they would break out into bright, wailing solos that punctuated the otherwise ho-mogenous grooves with bursts of white-hot improvisation. In the later portion of the set, the clarinetist opened a tune with a spooky solo intro in the familiar Klezmer style- setting a mel-low, darker mood in contrast to the band’s previous numbers. Inevitably, the tune eventually exploded into something more danceable, and the virtuoso clarinetist once again graced the audience with a mesmerizing solo that brought the song to a satisfying end.

While the band’s overall performance was superb, the set list could have used more variation with regards to style and mood. Almost every number had a similar kind of upbeat feel that made dancing irresistible, but that also made it difficult to dis-tinguish one song from the next. Also, the accordion, often a central feature of this type of music, was hardly audible, sur-facing only once from the milieu of sound to play a relatively timid and unmemorable solo. However, these are only minor quips in comparison to the group’s otherwise spectacular play-ing. LaTourelle is the kind of band that appeals to both con-servatory-trained musicians and people who just like to dance; executing virtuosic displays of instrumental ability and main-taining an endlessly catchy beat. A must-see.

LaTourelle Orkestra @ Le Divan OrangeSaturday, January 28th, 2012Huei Lin

Le Divan Orange: An excited crowd of youths and middle-agers assembled in Le Divan Orange on Saturday night, eagerly antici-pating what promised to be a Balkan dance party. As the clock approached 11 PM, the band made its way on stage and jumped right into its opening tune- sending the audience into paroxysms of dancing and cheering.

The seven-piece group, LaTourelle Orkestra, hails from Quebec City (the name comes from a street in said city called rue de la Tourelle) and consists of clarinet, trumpet, violin/mandolin, guitar/banjo, accordion, bass, and drums. The core of LaTourelle’s sound is primarily that of Eastern European and Klezmer music, evoking the feeling of a Jewish wedding or a band of wandering gypsies. Opening the night with an upbeat groove, the band proceeded to take the audience on a sonic journey- making full use of its di-verse instrumentation and practically ordering everyone to dance. During the first few tunes, the guitarist barked out lyrics that re-sembled catchy melodic phrases more than discernable words, and invited the crowd to sing along (which it did, with semi-drunken enthusiasm). Later in the set, the bassist took over the lead vocals, singing in a raspy, pirate-like style reminiscent of bands like Gogol Bordello.

While each and every member of LaTourelle exhibited clear tech-nical mastery of his instrument, the stunning flourishes and runs did not seem ostentatious or in any way ego-inflating; rather, they

Page 5: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph 5 February 2012

Funking for ChangeMcGill Jazz Bands Throw Benefit ShowHuei Lin

A Night of Hanky Panky

Saturday, February 11th: On Facebook, it was advertised as “Funking for Change.” As it drew nearer, its name was changed to the slightly more provocative “A Night of Hanky Panky @ da House of Janky!” Whatever the title, the event was a wel-come relief from the daily stresses of academic and musical pursuits, offering its attendees a chance to “kick back, relax, and get funky!”

This turned out to be the perfect description of “Funking for Change.” The show was held at the spacious apartment of McGill student Louis Stein, a jazz guitar performance major, and combined the intensity of a concert with the carefree at-mosphere of a house party. Two McGill-based jazz/funk bands were on the bill for the night: The Drunk Money Machine (aka the Evan Shay quintet) and Busty and the Bass. Although the first band was scheduled to go on at 9:30 PM, the first hour and a half of the concert was essentially an open jam, with musi-cians from both groups teaming up to play jazz standards such as “Beatrice”, “There Will Never Be Another You,” and “Bil-lie’s Bounce.” While audience members chatted and knocked back cans of beer and Red Bull, the musicians shook the room with peppy solos that seemed to build on one another like a musical pyramid.

As the night approached 11 o’clock, The Drunk Money Ma-chine assembled on stage and jumped right into a revamped version of John Coltrane’s “Impressions.” The group had a decidedly contemporary sound, in sharp contrast to the more “standard” approach taken during the preceding jam. Follow-ing its rendition of “Impressions,” the group played a mélange of standards and originals, injecting spurts of energy into the room through adventurous improvisations and sometimes jar-ring harmonies. When The DMM finished its set, Busty and Bass took the stage and electrified the room with various funk standards and grooves. While the energy level remained high, the shift in musical styles provided a refreshing change from the modernist sensibility of the previous group.

Playing for Change

While guests filed in and out of the apartment-turned-venue, an usher asked around for donations which would be used to sup-port Playing for Change, an organization whose singular aim is to spread peace and intercultural understanding through music. Playing for Change started in 2004 as a collective that traveled the world looking for inspirational but undiscovered musicians from various regions of the globe; once they found individu-als of interest, they would record the musicians and dissemi-nate their performances over the web as well as give live film

Musicians funking for change. Photo by Huei Lin.

screenings of the musicians. Especially given the post-9/11 at-mosphere of fear and mistrust between the East and the West, Playing for Change felt that this was a critical time for world peace, an uncertain era that was in dire need of a unifying force. As it turns out, music happens to be just such a force; a universal language that transcends cultural boundaries. Play-ing for Change promotes the crossing of these boundaries through exposure to the music of cultures from around the world.

Playing for Change continues to search for musicians and pro-mote them through concerts and videos, but it also has a sepa-rate mission of giving back to the communities that allowed their music to be recorded and spread. The organization urges musicians everywhere to get involved by putting together benefit concerts and events; “Funking for Change” was one such concert. The proceeds from the “Funking” concert will go towards improving music education in struggling commu-nities, hopefully nurturing a new generation of musicians and activists who will follow in their benefactors’ footsteps. Spe-cifically, the funds with be given to the Playing for Change Foundation, a nonprofit corporation founded in 2007 by the Playing for Change movement whose job it is to raise money that can be used to help communities in such places as Ghana, Nepal, South Africa, and Rwanda.

Continued on Page 6

Page 6: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph6 February 2012

Heart of the CityPlanting the seeds of hope, one lesson at a timeSarah Hanafi

The Heart of the City Piano Program (HCPP) is what you get when you combine a love for music, social justice, education, and children. Found-ed in 1995 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, this grassroots organization has since sprouted up in cities across Canada: Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal. The Montreal chapter, composed entirely of McGill stu-dents, provides free piano lessons to kids in disadvantaged sectors of the city. In addition to sharing music, their mission is to build self-esteem and foster an interest in school in children who are all-too-often marginalized by society.

The chapter is currently set up in four Montreal schools, three Anglophone and one Francophone. Each volunteer has between one and two students from September to April, to whom they provide piano lessons for a mini-mum of half an hour a week. Volunteers are free to design their own les-son plans, with the program offering much pedagogical flexibility, though lessons books are provided as a guide. Due to limited resources such as time, money, and space, teaching must be approached in an innovative way; schools are provided with multiple keyboards and headphone sets, allowing other children to practice while volunteers provide lessons. With the program’s mission statement in mind, students are selected by teach-ers from each school based on interest, potential, and need for character development. The hard work and effort of the year is honoured with the annual recital in mid-April, where each child is given the opportunity to perform for his/her family and friends. In so doing, the children are able to share their accomplishments with their peers and develop their self-esteem.

Within the past year the Montreal HCPP has grown enormously; the number of volunteers has more than doubled, and the program now serves close to 90 students. Voice lessons have just begun at St. John Bosco school, while tutoring programs are underway at St. Gabriel’s and St. John Bosco. The chapter has also undergone some reorganization with the creation of sub-committees for pedagogy and fundraising, as well as an external relations position. But the executive committee has even bigger plans for the future. The branch aims at expanding its volunteer base to other Montreal campus-es, as well as widening its reach within the Montreal community, particu-larly to more disadvantaged Francophone sectors. The group is also working towards alternative funding sources until the organization has the means to apply for a registered charity status. This would include a performance troupe that could play at Montreal functions in exchange for donations to the cause.

The Montreal HCPP is hoping to diversify its volunteer set, which is over-whelmingly represented by the Faculty of Science. Despite a minimum re-quirement of grade 8 RCM, the group is looking for volunteers with more teaching experience that could assist the newly-created Pedagogy commit-tee devise innovative teaching solutions. As well, with the creation of a per-formance troupe, the branch is searching for talented musicians, pianists and non-pianists alike, who are willing to donate their time.

The Schulich School of Music is particularly excited about this initiative. Sara Laimon, Associate Dean, sees the program as “a fantastic opportunity for [music] students to witness first-hand the role music can play in the lives of young children, and to give something back to the community.” Laimon also sees the HCPP as offering a “profound” and necessary experience “that all emerging professionals should have.” The Schulich School of Music has sponsored the initiative through the Alumni Office’s Seeds of Change pro-gram, which enables McGill’s alumni to support the HCPP via online dona-tions.

How to get involved

Interested applicants are asked to submit an application form to the Execu-tive Board, detailing why they want to be involved and describing their prior experiences working with children. A Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 8 Level or equivalent on piano is required to be selected. Volunteers must also provide references and undergo a mandatory police record check to participate in the program. More information can be found at the program’s website: http://www.heartofthecity.ca/montreal/ or via email:[email protected].

Sarah Hanafi is a Faculty of Science student who has been involved with HCPP since Winter 2011.

Playing for Change: the McGill Chapter

How did Playing for Change make its way to McGill? About two or three years ago, McGill student Erika Finestone established the McGill chapter of Playing for Change, setting the gears in motion for what would turn into a series of benefit concerts and events in various venues around Montreal. This past year, the McGill chap-ter of Playing for Change hosted events at venues such as Vinyl, the Cro Bar and the Yellow Door, and most recently, at a student’s apartment in the Plateau. The organization keeps very active, with a constantly updated Facebook page and mailing list. Events are frequent.

While the concept of music as a universal language is hardly rev-olutionary, Playing for Change is a truly effective way of bringing people together for a good time while raising support for com-munities in need. As a music student spending hours and hours in a practice room, it is easy to lose sight of the communities in need on the other side of the planet; Playing for Change reminds us that not only are there numerous civilizations who could use our help, but that they produce beautiful music of their own that, unfortunately, often does not reach our ears.

We can only hope that one day we will all be able to kick back, relax, and get funky as one happy family.

Funking for Change: Continued from Page 5

Page 7: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph 7 February 2012

standing with the programs. After scanning the program, he seemed some-what dissatisfied and asked me for the composer’s name of the last piece Maria played. Forgetting the encore, I pointed to the last piece on the pro-gram and said it was by Chopin. “Huh, that was some weird Chopin”, he grunted. Kate Maloney, another CMWB organizer, immediately realized my mistake and said, “Oh actually, she also played an encore- by Scria-bin!” He nodded his head thoughtfully, gruffly said, “yes, Scriabin, yes that makes more sense”, and then wandered off into the street. I would not have guessed before the concert began that this slumbering man curled up in the pew with an old sleeping bag would listen to the concert with a trained ear. The fact that his ear was so trained it could immediately distin-guish Chopin’s music from Scriabin’s, was truly unexpected.

Every audience gains something different from every performance, and every musician learns something new from performing a concert. The more we share our music with the public, the more we come to understand why exactly we lock ourselves in a practice room day in and day out. Mu-sic is interactive and constantly begs to be performed. Our responsibility as musicians is to bring music to every audience, and to take what we can from the audience’s response. We never know what we might gain from the experience.

Many thanks to Kate Maloney, Emilie-Anne Neeland, Ryan Davis, Sam Milner, Jeremy Foster, and Steve Whiteley who will be directing CMWB next semester. Please see our website: www.cmwbmcgill.ca or e-mail us at [email protected] for more information.

Music: Something Special for EveryoneAmy Hillis

I want to describe some of my favourite anecdotes which have taken place during the last three years of my time with McGill’s Chamber Music With-out Borders/Musique de Chambre Sans Frontières. Although many see CMWB primarily as a charity organization, I have come to consider the group as a catalyst for bridging the gap between classical performers and audiences. Often this requires coming at music from a fresh perspective and involves performing in less-than-grandiose situations. For me, all it takes is the right circumstance to remind me that we, musicians, are capa-ble of connecting with folks of all backgrounds and of all ages on a very, profound level.

Although CMWB’s weekly concerts are now on Sundays at 1pm at Christ Church Cathedral, they used to be on Tuesdays at 12:30pm at St. James United Church. There is a homeless shelter attached to St. James and we often had members of the shelter wander into our concerts when they were still at St. James. CMWB has a separate jam session for the homeless every Friday at the shelter itself, but it was also nice to see a few familiar faces at the Tuesday concerts. A particular homeless man (I’ll call him “Jimmy”) had been coming to our concerts on a fairly regular basis and I had no-ticed him quietly sitting at the back of the church for the duration of the concert. I asked Rob about him and Rob told me his name and gave me a brief history of the man’s tough life. Rob also added that Jimmy, a man on welfare support, donated a five-dollar bill to CMWB at the end of every concert. Apparently Jimmy looked forward not only to a concert of beauti-ful music every Tuesday; he also enjoyed a renewed feeling of self-worth after saving up $5 every week and dropping it in our donation plate. It was incredible to know we were doing more for this man than just a simple act of charity.

My second story comes from a school workshop my string quartet recently hosted at an elementary school in Westmount. From time to time, CMWB sends out chamber groups to give a small performance and lead an interac-tive workshop with an assembly of younger kids. We always meet some great characters at these schools, but there was one particular young boy at this school in Westmount who was especially adorable. First, he gave us a personal introduction before the workshop began, saying he played the guitar and piano. “Very sweet,” we thought, “isn’t that nice,” not really giving it too much thought. Then, during the question and answer period, his character developed when he asked if we could “play some Paganini”. These are words a violinist never wants to hear but nonetheless, we were able to fulfill his request and we were impressed he knew Paganini’s music. After the workshop had ended, our quartet walked back through the halls and met the same little boy who ran out of his classroom to have another chat with us. Our violist asked him, “who’s your favourite composer?” All smiles, he replied, “Stravinsky!” “Awesome,” we thought, “this guy earns major points.” Then, we asked, “Ok, so what’s your favourite piece by Stravinsky?” Bursting with eagerness, the boy shouts, “Rite of Spring!” In the short six years of his life, he had gained an appreciation for music many adults do not have. Moreover, this guy’s enthusiasm for great music was enough to motivate any musician to get out there and perform it.

My last story comes from our first Sunday concert in February during which Maria Fuller played three beautiful piano pieces during the second half of the program. She played a Prelude and Fugue by Bach, a longer, virtuosic piece by Chopin, and even added an encore by Scriabin. A home-less man had been sleeping in the church even before the concert began and continued to sleep silently in the pew as the program progressed. Only after the concert ended did he get up and walk over towards where I was

Sudoku

Page 8: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph8 February 2012

Don Giovanni: A ReviewMatt Horrigan

Writing as one who had never been to the opera before, I must say my ex-pectations were rather mixed. Was I actually going to be able to sit down for three hours and enjoy the histrionic wailing of strangely costumed singers in a language I don't understand? Subtitles or no, I was fully pre-pared for a harrowing experience.

Fortunately, Mozart and Opera McGill had assembled a rather more ex-citing show than I had anticipated. Aria flowed into recitative flowed naturally into aria, and the subtitles were only sporadically necessary to help elucidate the onstage action.

The scandalous melodrama of the plot helped a lot. For those who have never seen the show, it follows the lecherous Don Giovanni (better known as Don Juan) as his relentless pursuit of tail leads him to a sulfurous de-mise.

Gordon Binter was quite spectacular as the titular anti-hero, his magiste-rial stage presence evident from the first scene, when he marched onstage in a mask and flowing red-black cloak to "ravish" the melancholic Donna Anna (Tracy Cantin). Cantin delivered a formidable performance her-self, her tremendous vocal power and agility on display for much of the evening.

The opera could not have done without the bumbling antics of Leporel-lo, the Don's long-suffering henchman. As the principal comic relief in a a frequently comedic tale, Geoffrey Pinar made every gesture count. Whether "disguised" in his master's totally enveloping cloak, surrounded by an angry mob, or distributing liquor to already-drunk guests in the process of a wedding-crashing, Pinar's Leporello provided many of the show's highlights.

Two other distinctive voices belonged to Kevin Meyers and Sara Ptak, playing the stoic Don Ottavio and the doleful Donna Elvira, respectively. Meyers's exceptionally trebly tenor soared above the orchestra, allowing him to keep up with Cantin, his frequent duet partner. Ptak's main con-tribution was an especially vivid portrayal of her character, one of Don Giovanni's (more than fifteen hundred) former conquests, who resolves to keep other naive women from her bitter fate.

The performance was not without its peculiarities. For mysterious rea-sons, the plot seemed to have been reinterpreted with the protagonist cast as a vampire. Although none of the libretto had been altered, a final scene in which Don Giovanni invites a series of female guests to dinner had been revamped (so to speak) such that the guests were the dinner. Addi-tionally, any weaponry written into the script was replaced onstage with blue glowstick-like devices that could be switched off and on; although no vwam-vwam noises were audible, visual similarities to lightsabers were inescapable. May the force be with you, Don Ottavio.

But this being an opera, it all comes down to the music, which was excel-lent. My various prejudices toward the genre began to evaporate with the first bar of the overture, and had essentially been dispelled by the final chorus. So to any opera-virgin readers, I say: if you ever get the chance, go. Especially if the show happens to be put on by Opera McGill.

The Castle on the HillErica Jacobs-Perkins

The Royal Victoria Hospital left a lasting impression on me the first time I saw it a year and a half ago, and it’s a small wonder: over the rooftops of the McGill campus only the highest turret is visible, but when seen fully it looks like nothing short of a castle. Situated at the top of Uni-versity Street and built in the late 19th century, it is part of the McGill University Health Centre and connected to the Montreal Neurological Institute by a bridge over the street.

From the outside it looks nothing like a hospital, so I was slightly shocked to see that the inside looks like any functioning hospital when I first stepped in, six months later. I hadn’t come to see a doctor; I was there for an interview. I had a few friends who planned to start volunteering at the hospital, and having the vague feeling that I had too much time on my hands, I decided to join them.

My initial volunteer placement was in the dialysis unit of the RVH, where my main duties were making trips to the cafeteria, providing company, and playing bingo with the patients who were hooked up to the dialysis machines. Treatment lasts approximately three hours, and the patients who were in advanced kidney failure often had to come in to the hospi-tal every other day to have toxins and excess liquid filtered out of their blood. I liked getting to know the same set of patients over the course of the semester, and the dialysis machines looked cool and had lots of knobs and buttons (which, of course, only doctors or nurses dealt with). I did know at the time that the volunteer program had a music area. I just wasn’t sure that I wanted to spend all day in the practice room and then lug my violin up to the hospital and play some more.

This past September, when I went back to the hospital to resume my volunteer duties, my supervisor, Alexandra Bernard, mentioned that the program was short of musicians this school year. I was still reluctant at first to participate; a volunteer’s first duty in the hospital is to stay out of the way, and that goes fundamentally against a performer’s instinct. I didn’t think that playing in the hospital would be a musically fulfilling experience for me, since I would have to check myself every step of the way to ensure I didn’t disturb patients or staff. Then Alexandra men-tioned that the patients had specifically been asking for a violin. It was at that point that I realized playing in the hospital wasn’t about performing in order to prove something to myself, or to impress my audience, or even to perform to the best of my ability. It was about sharing something with others.

I requested to be assigned to the music rotation at the Montreal Neuro-logical Institute, where the in-patient wards are much smaller than those of the Royal Victoria Hospital itself. That meant that I could spend a longer amount of time at each station in the wards while I was playing and still be able to make the full round in my two-hour shift; if I had been playing at the RVH, I would have had to move after about ten minutes of playing. The MNI in-patient wards have two U-shaped floors, so I usually play for twenty minutes to half an hour in four or five different locations on any given day. As I mentioned before, my real purpose is to provide whatever patients need, so I have to be sure to be observant of the people around me.

Responses from the patients are always varied. On my first day, I got to the end feeling as though I hadn’t accomplished much and had mostly been a nuisance to patients who were trying to rest and recover. Just as I was packing up to leave, one of the nurses came over to me and said, “There’s a woman down here who’s turning seventy today. Can you come play for her?”

Continued on Page 9

Page 9: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph 9 February 2012

He led me over to this woman, who had recently had brain surgery and was uncommunicative and mostly unresponsive to her surroundings. I played her “Happy Birthday” and a few other simple tunes, and although she didn’t respond when I spoke to her, she watched me intently while I was playing and followed me with her eyes when I left to put my vio-lin away. A few weeks later, a man in the ward for seizure patients was brought almost to tears by the first movement of the Mozart G Major concerto (and it certainly wasn’t because of how I was playing it), and then requested that I play some ABBA songs. I obliged him, with mixed results, but he didn’t care how sketchy my approximations were. He was just happy for the company and the music.

Of course it’s not all warm and fuzzy experiences. I’ve had nurses ask me to leave because patients have headaches, secretaries ask me to play more quietly because they have headaches, and I’ve even had doors slammed in my face. It always feels like a personal affront, no matter how hard I try to rationalize with myself that I’m there for the patients and not for myself. Sometimes it’s hard to drag myself up the hill to play for people who, it often seems, don’t even want me there. Still, it’s the little victories that keep me going, the people who ask me to stay and play more, the janitor who recognizes me every week, the nurses who get excited be-cause they have a patient who has requested music. No matter how hard it is to play entirely for other people and to put my own musical needs aside for the time being, I’m glad I allowed myself to be talked into it.

For more information about the MUHC volunteer program, contact Al-exandra Bernard, Supervisor of Volunteer Services, at (514) 934-1934, ext. 31535 or [email protected].

MUHC Volunteering: Continued from Page 8

After Your B.Mus. – What Next?Exploring the career paths of McGill Music graduates

The words are no doubt familiar, and potentially anxiety-pro-voking, to any soon-to-be graduate: “Congratulations!” Followed shortly by: “What are you going to do next?” This question can be a complex one to answer, as career paths and transitions often make much more sense in hindsight that they do when you are right in the midst of them. Do you find a job in music? Audition? Take an internship or enter a competition? Look for options in a different field? Consider returning to school? The possibilities are many, and learning about the routes that others have followed can be helpful when you’re thinking about your own options.

In this new column, I’ll compile interviews with McGill Music graduates who have taken many different paths (both inside and outside of the music world) since their time at Schulich. I hope these stories provide insight, ideas and inspiration for your own journey!

Compiled by Jan Bottomer, Music and Arts Career Advisor, McGill’s Ca-reer Planning Service (CaPS). If you’re wondering about your own career path post-McGill, she can be reached at [email protected].

Darren Fung, B.Mus Honours in Composition, 2002

Current position: I'm a freelance film composer now based in Los An-geles. I just moved my company, Stinky Rice Studios Inc., here in July, from Montreal. I'm also the Second Vice President for the Screen Com-posers Guild of Canada (SCGC).

Can you tell us a little about your career path to date?

I graduated from McGill with a BMus Honours in Composition in 2002. I think like all music students, I freaked out in my fourth year trying to figure out what I wanted to do. So, I applied for grad school. Long story short, I came very close to doing my Masters, but realized that as much as I enjoyed avant garde music, I didn't want to write that for a living.So, instead of doing a Masters, my first year out of school was spent working at a call centre doing tech support for Microsoft. But I managed to finagle a 4 day a week schedule, where I took that time off to score stu-dent short films, and do a mentorship program through the Screen Com-posers Guild of Canada. That summer I went to Aspen to do their film scoring program there, then tried to do film scoring full time. And I was broke. Like, I don't know how I managed to pay rent, broke. I managed to get onto this great government program called the Self Employment Program, which basically helped me write a business plan and supported me for a year while I got my crap together. It allowed me to buy a decent computer and studio equipment. And from there, I've managed to keep relatively stable work -- it's moved from orchestrating and assisting other composers, to doing real, paid gigs.

How did you get your first job post-graduation?

While I was doing my apprenticeship through the SCGC, my mentor referred me to another Montreal film composer who needed some help orchestrating.

How did your time at McGill prepare you for your career?

I'm really grateful to McGill for giving me a solid musical background. My composition degree gave me chops, both in orchestration and writ-ing. My jazz piano lessons were fantastic in helping me improvise and think on my feet from a jazz perspective. Courses like Digital Studio Composition and Conducting were also really valuable in terms of the knowledge that I took away.

That being said, I think that the most important thing that McGill gave me was a network of colleagues that I could call upon to help me when I needed it. Specifically, almost all of the musicians that I hire in Montreal and Toronto have some sort of McGill connection. Now that I have the budgets to pay people properly (and not just in pizza and beer!), I feel very obligated to call those same people back for those gigs, and not just jump to the OSM A-list of people. I think loyalty is one of the most important traits for anybody freelancing. On that same note, almost all of the engineers that I hire are McGill Sound Recording grads, because I know that there is a certain level of quality that I'm getting when I hire someone from McGill.

What advice would you give to current students interested in this type of career path?

One of the things that I wasn't prepared for was the emotional ups and downs of running a business. That's really what this is, a business. There can be periods of 6 months where you don't have any work coming in, and it is really hard on the ego and on the soul. I often feel that the people who are working in this biz aren't the most talented writers, but the ones who have a solid business plan (so they have cash reserves) and the ones who persevere. And sometimes they are just damn lucky!

Continued on Page 10

Page 10: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph10 February 2012

the ego at the door, suck it up, and do another rewrite. That's the game, and if you can't deal with it, don't get into the biz.

Can you describe the role music/performing currently plays in your life?

Well, I compose almost every day. And when I'm not composing, I'm either on vacation or I'm doing some other element of my business (like bookkeeping two weeks before taxes are due!), so I'm usually listening to music. Sometimes it’s hard to find time to just listen to music, for listening’s sake, but I feel like I need to constantly listen to new things to try to keep my creative mind moving.

Any favourite moments/highlights in your career thus far?

I'll give you two. I think the most important part of my career so far was getting my agent. I'm repped by Maria Machado at the Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency. They rep notable nobodies like John Williams, Thomas Newman and Michael Giacchino. They are Hollywood's biggest, and arguably best, agency for film composers (heck, they rep John Williams!). I was sitting in the mix room for one of the films I scored, Just Buried, and one of the producers, John Watson, looks at me and says “Do you have an agent?”“No.”“You know who you should meet, you should meet Michael Gorfaine!” (of the Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency).Long pause. “You can get me a meeting with Michael Gorfaine?”“I'm e-mailing him right now!”Now, anybody who knows me knows that I am an absolute networking whore, and it is hard just to get any sort of meeting with an agent. And here, completely unsolicited, a producer was offering to get me a meeting with the top Hollywood film composer agency! So that's a moment that I won't forget for a long time, and I'm very grateful to John for making that call for me, because it really was pivotal for my career.

I think the biggest highlight of my career so far was producing the new ar-rangements and orchestration of the "Hockey Theme" (formerly known as the Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song). It was such a hoot being able to conduct and record with 54 members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra! And I was by far the youngest guy in the room! I was trying to explain to my agent, who is based in LA, the importance of this song, but being American I don't think she quite got it. It was amazing being entrusted to do this, but you have no idea how terrified I was of screwing it up, and of the possibility of having generations of Canadians hating me!

What was the most recent concert you attended, and how was it?

The last concert I saw was in New Orleans, seeing Randy Newman play with the Louisiana Phil. Their hall kinda sucks, but Randy Newman is such a great showman, and his arrangements and orchestrations are sooo lush. That was a long time ago. I'm hoping to check out Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bo-livar Youth Orchestra next week for Mahler fest... it'll be my first concert in a while!

What Next? continued from page 9The other thing I would say is to leave the ego at the door. Working in film scoring, or any sort of commercial media compos-ing (television, video games, etc.) means that you are a hired gun, and someone will be telling you what to write. One of the hardest things I had to learn was to not take criticism personally. As a concert compos-er, you are so used to having artistic free-dom to do whatever it is you want, limited only by your performer's capabilities. In film, nothing sucks more than criticism when you have put your heart and soul into a cue that you feel is the next best thing since sliced bread. But your job is to serve the picture, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. So, it just means you have to check

Amandine Michaud, Bachelor of Music, Marketing Minor, 2009

Current position: I just started in Communications at Kruger Inc., special-izing in Web projects. I also volunteer in event planning for the McGill Young Alumni Association.

Can you tell us a little about your career path to date?

I graduated from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in 2009 with a Bachelor of Music and a minor in Marketing. I had already acquired almost three years of part-time Marketing experience at the McGill Execu-tive Institute working as a Marketing Assistant. Then I did a few short-term jobs like telemarketing for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. In January 2010, I started working as an Account Coordinator in a local online market-ing company called Cypra Media. More recently, in August 2011, I joined Kruger Inc.’s Communications team, where I specialize in web projects.

How did you get your first job post-graduation?

There is a saying that the first career job is the hardest to get. In my case, it was even more difficult since I graduated in the midst of a recession. I attended the McGill CaPS Job Finding Club in the Spring of 2009, which gave me loads of insightful tips.

But, it was still a challenge to get my CV on top of the pile. So, I took the time to hand in my resume in person for the jobs that I really wanted. And that is how I got my shot at Cypra Media. The person in charge of recruit-ment was impressed by my proactiveness and gave me an interview on the spot. And then it all went from there.

How did your time at McGill prepare you for your career?

Studying at McGill definitely taught me some very important skills. For example, during our first year, we had to hand-in assignments at 9:00 AM sharp. That definitely forced me to be punctual and be more considerate towards other people when you have agreed to a meeting time.

Being a real school nerd, I had also attended pretty much all of the CaPS workshops throughout my studies, which is where I learnt how to ace an interview. Our advisor, Marie Moscato, and my piano teacher, Prof. Ma-rina Mdivani, helped me build up self-confidence to go after my biggest dreams. Towards the end of my curriculum, I also met the fantastic Jan Bottomer, who helped me draft a seriously hot CV and helped me figure out what I wanted to do in the next few years.

The biggest lessons I learnt were definitely outside of the classroom. I got involved in many student associations and thanks to that, I now have sol-id interpersonal and leadership skills, and I understand the importance of team work.

What advice would you give to current students interested in this type of career path?

Jobs in Marketing and Communications vary widely. Do some research to get to know exactly what you would like to do. Conduct some informa-tional interviews if you can. That will give you a better idea of your op-tions. Read job postings and familiarize yourself with what the recruiters are looking for.

Take some classes in Marketing or Public Relations to get at least the ba-sics. Learning a bunch of languages doesn’t hurt. In addition, get involved in your community. Recruiters in this domain are looking for brilliant peo-ple, “go-getters’’ with great interpersonal skills. They must have demon-strated leadership skills but also be able to work in teams.

Continued on Page 11

Page 11: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph 11 February 2012

Any favourite moments/highlights in your career thus far?

I don’t have a favourite moment per se as I make a point to enjoy every single day to its fullest. I make sure to choose a job that I will enjoy, and that the team I will be working with is great. Other than that, graduation day was very emotional because I was the first person in my family to finish university. Every time I got a job or an exceptional performance evaluation, it also felt really good. And of course, being a ‘’people person,’’ I love to meet new people at networking events and share our experiences.

What was the most recent concert you attended, and how was it?

I have to admit that I haven’t attended any classical music concerts lately. I went to see Diam’s, a French female rapper at Metropolis, and Melina Soochan, a dear friend of mine, performing at Upstairs Jazz bar. But for this year, I have already gathered a few interested friends to go to a few concerts.

In my agenda, I have penciled in a few performances, like Opera McGill’s Don Giovanni at the end of the January and Evgeny Kissin at the newly inaugurated Maison Symphonique in April. Finally, I Musici have a great series of concerts at Ogilvy’s Tudor Hall. What a great plan for a Saturday afternoon after doing some (careful) shopping!

What Next? continued from page 9

Music continues to play a huge role in my life. Listening to my favourite tunes helps me rekindle the passion I have for life and for beautiful things. Having performed in multiple concerts, I excel in presentations and inter-views. My background has given me great cultural knowledge that distin-guishes me on many occasions, professionally and personally. And I believe that musicians are the most hard-working, disciplined and dedicated work-ers out there.

Classical Revolution Montreal plans to grow from its current weekly cafe set to include special events in bars and other such nifty venues. If you are interested in performing, have any ideas about repertoire or perfor-mance spaces, or just want come out to see a show, feel free to contact us at [email protected], check out our Facebook page, or just talk to one of us (Erica Jacobs-Perkins, Adora Wong or myself) in person!

Classical RevolutionThomas Fortner

In addition to my cello and conducting studies here at Schulich, I am privi-leged to be a part of a rapidly growing movement called “Classical Revo-lution.” According to our website, “Classical Revolution was founded on November 12th 2006 at Revolution Cafe in the Mission District of San Francisco. In the past 5 years, we've presented over 700 chamber music events in more than 90 Bay Area venues, with the goal of bringing live chamber music to our neighborhoods, making it an open, accessible, and fun musical experience for the community. The Classical Revolution model has spread around the world, with nearly 30 active chapters in cities around the US, Canada, and Europe.”

One of those chapters is right here in Montreal. Every Saturday we hold a two hour set at Le Depanneur Cafe, (http://www.ledepanneurcafe.com/) which is located at the intersection of Bernard and Esplanade in Mile End. During those two hours we play anything from solos, duets, trios, quar-tets (The TARDIS Quartet, comprised of Adora Wong, David Endemann, Erica Jacobs-Perkins, and myself, have made many appearances this year), quintets (the Schubert Cello Quintet was quite a hit!) and beyond. A per-formance of Bach’s “Coffee Cantata” is being planned, as well as Men-delssohn’s epic Octet. We have also had an early music ensemble, headed by Eleanor Verrette, a Jazz Combo with Max Williams, and will soon have some harpsichord and harp performances.

Along with painstakingly rehearsed works, sight reading and improvisation have been integral parts of our weekly set, as we feel this helps reveal to the audience the more relaxed and casual side of the classical music mak-ing experience, something that is not often seen by the public. This point helps illustrate the whole goal of the movement, which is to communicate the music with the public in a more direct way. We take our music from the stuffy concert hall, leave our tuxes and gowns in the closet, and go out looking like normal people (not snobby classical musicians) into the places where normal people live their normal daily lives, in cafes or bars, for ex-ample. Classical musicians have feared that our art will become a cultural anachronism, so by playing our music in a space where people already feel more comfortable listening to music, we hope that many new people will discover and grow to love this vibrant art. Our wish is that they spend more time enjoying the music and less time worrying about when to clap, cough, run to the washroom, or if they turned their cell phone on silent.

The Crimson String Quartet, playing for Classical Revolution at Le Depanneur Cafe.

Finally, I would tell them to be patient. Some recent graduates expect too much from their first job. They think that it is go-ing to come to them quickly, and that they are going to earn a lot right away. Like many other career paths, you first have to get some experience by volunteering, and sometimes doing administrative tasks or working in a smaller company during the first few years. Network, persevere and you might just have a great career in front of you.

Can you describe the role music/perform-ing currently plays in your life?

Page 12: The Phonograph - Spring 2012

The Phonograph12 February 2012

The Phonograph Office: 555 Sherbrooke Street West, Room E-106, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1E3

[email protected]

VisualAnonymousMeiying LiHuei LinArjun Mehta

Matthew HorriganErica Jacobs-PerkinsKatie LarsonMeiying LiHuei Lin

WrittenJan BottomerDavid EndemannThomas FortnerAlana GoldscheidAmy Hillis

The Phonograph is the official publication of the Music Undergraduate Students’ Association of the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the University, the School, or the Association.