Shaun and Naomi from The Queer Songbook Orchestra are our guests on What’s Your Forte this week! They chat to Kathryn and Kirsten about the importance of music in building an uplifting community, as well as the ensemble’s history and their new Queer Songbook Youth Orchestra program. They also give advice on charting a career in music and geek out about jazz, My Chemical Romance and their favourite gigs. If you’d like to play with the youth orchestra, check out queersongbook.com/qsyo.

Founded by Shaun in 2014, the Queer Songbook Orchestra is a 14-piece chamber pop ensemble dedicated to expressing and uplifting 2SLGBTQ+ narratives, while providing opportunities for mentorship and other supports to queer, trans, questioning and allied youth. A collaborative, community-based project, the Queer Songbook Orchestra have worked with 200+ collaborators, toured extensively throughout Canada and were longlisted for the 2018 Polaris Prize for their collaborative album with Vivek Shraya. Watch it on YouTube, and subscribe for more!

Shaun Brodie (he/him) is a classically trained trumpet player with a performance degree from the University of Victoria, and extensive experience as a session and freelance musician. Performing live and in-studio with acts such as Basia Bulat, Broken Social Scene, Father John Misty and many others, Shaun has toured internationally and appeared on a wide spectrum of stages including The Late Show with David Letterman and the Glastonbury Festival.

Naomi McCarroll-Butler (she/her/ze/zir) is a saxophonist, clarinetist and instrument maker from Toronto. She is interested in the overtone series, breathwork in the unique somatic journey of trans and gender-non-conforming people, and the creation of aural trance environments. An active collaborator, Naomi plays with many artists including Jeremy Dutcher, and her work as a composer and improviser has been featured by the Canadian Music Centre, Women From Space Festival and the Guelph Jazz Festival. Her piece CHRYSALIS was premiered in July as the Artist in Residence for the 2022 Toronto Jazz Festival.

“We call it playing for a reason!” What’s Your Forte returns for Season 4! Our first guest this season is Adina V, a singer-songwriter, teacher and Humber College grad based in Toronto. On this episode, she and Sandy discuss her favourite artists, unique journey into music and give some much-needed advice to budding guitarists everywhere.

A previous Play A Gig guest, Adina V is a singer-songwriter whose style ranges from catchy indie-rock tunes to introspective folk ballads. She recently graduated with honours from Humber College’s Bachelor of Music program and has been teaching music and performing around the GTA ever since.

Her original music has caught the attention of many and this past year she won both a songwriting award and a MARTY from the Mississauga Arts Council. Merging 90s-infused nostalgia with intimate folk songs, she takes a conversational approach to lyricism while singing about love, loss and being a young adult in today's day and age. She has an EP as well as three singles available on all streaming platforms, with more to come in the near future!

Lee Willingham is our guest for episode 10 of What’s Your Forte’s Season Three!

Dr. Lee Willingham is the Professor of Music Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he runs the Music Education program, the Master of Arts program in Community Music and the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community. He co-authored the 2017 book “Engaging in Community Music, An Introduction” as well as the 2021 edited volume “Community Music at the Boundaries”.

Lee was editor of the Canadian Music Educators' Association/ACME's journal The Canadian Music Educator/Musicien éducator au Canada for ten years and co-edited the book “Creativity and Music Education”. He is a past president and honourary life member of the OMEA - Ontario Music Educators' Association. We are delighted to talk to Lee about his musical journey, research in the field and community music.

This week’s guest on What’s Your Forte is Tim Louis! Currently the Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga, Tim Louis is also an award-winning songwriter and musician. His constant writing and recording - four albums and counting - have created a collection of original tunes. He has performed in solo shows and small jazz combos, as the guest vocalist for the Canadian Big Band, and has arranged and orchestrated scores for his performances with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Whether putting on shows for the Canadian Armed Forces overseas, touring Canada coast-to-coast or performing right here at home, Tim has gained a deeper appreciation for the values that make us proud to be Canadian. He currently sits on the Heritage Committee and is a strong advocate for the arts sector.

Dr. Chris Cigolea is our guest for episode eight of What’s Your Forte Season 3! Chris is the Music Director and Conductor of the Guelph Concert Band, Music Director for St. John’s-Kilmarnock School and C.I.G. School of the Performing Arts, and enjoys a busy international performing schedule as a trumpet player, guest conductor and clinician.

Born in Romania, Chris studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest before moving to Canada in 1996. He completed his Master of Music in Performance in 2001 and his Doctoral of Musical Arts in 2014 at the University of Toronto. Chris is the recipient of the 2016 Guelph Mayor’s Award, founding conductor of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra and founder of Focsani Blues Festival. He is also the inventor of the Staccator, the only practice tool that allows wind and brass players to practice articulation techniques without an instrument.

Fun fact - Band Camp Grand River is being hosted at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School this summer! Registration is now open for kids in grades 1-12 this July.

Available on anchor.fm/bandology or wherever you like to listen!

Dan Austin has taught instrumental and vocal music for 21 years and is currently the Instrumental Music Teacher and Band Director at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI). He is one of the only high school music directors in Canada to conduct an ensemble to a gold medal in every division of Musicfest Canada - Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Choir and Strings/Orchestra.

A graduate of York University’s Jazz Music program, Dan has developed and built strong music programs at both the elementary and secondary levels at Twin Lakes Secondary School (SCDSB), Glenhaven Senior Public School (PDSB), Mitchell Woods Public School and GCVI (UGDSB). In 2020 Dan was named the inaugural winner of the prestigious Beckwith Award by the Canadian Music Centre.

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Steve Butterworth joins for episode 6 of Season 3 of What’s Your Forte!

Steve is a music industry professional with an extensive background in music education, performance and business leadership in marketing. His education includes Jazz Studies at Humber College and a B.A in Music from McMaster University where he studied conducting and music education.

Steve served with the Naval Reserve Band at HMCS Star for more than two decades as a section leader, soloist and conductor with the National Band of the Naval Reserve / Musique Nationale de la Réserve Navale. He was a founding director of the Ontario Band Association and serves on the board of advisors for Humber Music.

He remains active as a clinician for brass performance, concert band and jazz bands as well as adjudicating in regional music festivals and performing with R&B band The Community Soul Project. Steve is the Vice President of Yamaha Canada Music Ltd. Musical Instruments Group.

Our fifth episode of What’s Your Forte Season 3 is out! Our guest is  Evan Teti, a drummer and Band Camp alumnus. Evan has been playing drums for 12 years and is in grade 12 at Oakville Trafalgar High School, where he is a member of the school jazz band. He’s also a member of the audition-only High Rendition Jazz Band.

He loves producing music using programs like Logic Pro and learning to play other instruments including bass, guitar and piano. Evan plans to study percussion in a Bachelor of Music program and has recently applied to University of Toronto Faculty of Music and  Humber Music. Listen at anchor.fm/bandology or your favourite podcast app!

We are lucky that Evan has been both a camper and a music mentor for Bandology! To learn more about our Band Camp programs, available in both Oakville and Kitchener-Waterloo/Guelph, check out https://bandology.ca/band-camps.

Join us for an Interview Series premiere featuring Bill and Shana Bates, co-owners of KAOS Music Centre! KAOS Music is both a music store and school with locations in Etobicoke and Oakville, Ontario. Bill started the business in 1989 and it has evolved into a first-class music equipment store and one of the west end’s most successful music schools. Along the way, he met his wife Shana, who has helped improve his business with her ongoing support and advice. After getting her degree in music education from the University of Western Ontario, Shana created, developed and ran one of the city's most successful, independent recording studios with a previous partner. Since selling her portion of the studio, Shana now spends her days as a homeschooling mom and business owner. Tune in to hear all about their journey of creating and growing their music school.