Canadian Live Performing Arts Representatives Anti-harassment Roundtable

Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Kirk MacDonald joined the Cape Breton Musicians’ Association at age 12, and made his first recording a year later.

Since moving to Toronto in 1997, he has performed on over 45 CDs, both as leader and sideman, and has participated in numerous national broadcast recordings for CBC Radio. He has performed extensively throughout Canada, as well as in the USA, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Monaco, Australia, Korea, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. Over 90 of his compositions appear on 22 CDs, of his own and of other artists.

Kirk has built an extensive body of jazz reflecting both tradition and innovation, and has built a solid reputation as a player, having performed or recorded with leading musicians from all over the world. In 1992 he was declared Winner at the prestigious 4ème Concours International de Solistes de Jazz in Monaco; he has been nominated for National Jazz Awards Saxophonist of the Year three times, among many other nominations and accolades.

An educator for 27 years at jazz studies programs such as the University of Toronto and McGill, he is presently a full time professor at Humber College in Toronto. A member of the Toronto Musicians’ Association since 1979, he has received 11 Juno Awards nominations, winning in 1999 and again in 2015, for Vista Obscura.

The Toronto Musicians’ Association congratulates Kirk on his recent Juno, and we are delighted to acknowledge him with our highest honour — our Lifetime Achievement Award.

by Dr. Réa Beaumont

Throughout his stellar 74-year career, Maestro Victor Feldbrill has conducted symphonies around the world, including every major Canadian orchestra. After studying with Ettore Mazzoleni and Pierre Monteux, Feldbrill’s national and international reputation flourished as he collaborated with Glenn Gould, Claudio Arrau, Janos Starker, Philippe Entrement, Luciano Pavarotti, and many of the finest musicians of the twentieth century. Feldbrill had the honour of conducting the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in command performances for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during their tour of Canada in 1959.

v febrill press releaseBorn in Toronto in 1924, Maestro Feldbrill first joined the Toronto Musicians’ Association at age 16 when he was contracted as a violinist to perform in the High Time Orchestra for a CFRB radio broadcast of music by a fellow TMA member, the composer and producer Howard Cable. With an early start as a violinist in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Feldbrill began a 62-year relationship with the orchestra that he guest conducted at age 18, later becoming its Resident Conductor (1973-76). He founded the Canadian Chamber Players (1952), was Acting Music Director of Orchestra London Canada (1979-1981), led the National Arts Centre Orchestra in a cross-Canada tour (1992), was Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra (1990-96), and guest conducted the CBC Orchestra on nineteen occasions.

Beyond the Canadian borders, Feldbrill’s growing stature led to an international career and he was appointed Principal Conductor of Tokyo’s Geidai Philharmonia (1982-87) as a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. He continued to receive invitations to guest conduct in China, the Philippines, the former Soviet Union (1963, 1966), and throughout Europe, including concerts for the BBC from 1957 onward.

Feldbrill’s long and illustrious career was not without its difficulties, however, and few people are aware that he has always been a strong advocate of ensuring that musicians receive adequate financial support. As part of his contract negotiations with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 1958, he stipulated that professional musicians would have to be recognized for their work. As a result — and after many negotiations — the bulk of the WSO were given 26-week contracts for the first time. He also conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra in support of its 1989 strike concerts, despite warnings from management.

Feldbrill has consistently supported Canadian composers. In his ten seasons as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the WSO (1958-68), he programmed works by Harry Somers, John Weinzweig, Barbara Pentland, Clermont Pépin, and S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté, to name a few. Although the Canadian compositions met with opposition from the WSO board, they proved to be acceptable to the audience at large, with proof being that they did not affect the box office. He also programmed works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Copland and others, to ensure that Canadian audiences would experience some of the greatest music of their time.

For Canada’s centennial, Feldbrill premièred the Canadian Opera Company’s performances of the country’s most famous opera, Harry Somers’ Louis Riel (1967), which Feldbrill describes as “a masterpiece.” Following one of the performances, the Canadian League of Composers surprised him with the first Canada Music Citation on stage at Toronto’s O’Keefe Centre.

Most classical musicians in Canada have either performed under Feldbrill’s leadership or heard the maestro at work, partly as a result of his dedication to training young musicians, including the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1968-82), Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (founder, conductor 1974-78), and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (resident conductor, 1960-62, 1964, 1969, 1975). For his work with young musicians, he was awarded the City of Tokyo medal (1978) and became the first Canadian to receive an American Concert Guild Award (1964). Previously a faculty member for fourteen years and head of its Orchestral and Conducting Department (1968-1982), Feldbrill returned to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music last year as the recipient of the Distinguished Visitor Award where he led the orchestra in concert and taught the department’s conducting majors.

Perhaps Maestro Feldbrill’s greatest achievement is his reputation as an esteemed yet respectful conductor committed to attaining the highest musical standards. He developed a strong vision for present and future generations of Canadians musicians, insisting that they receive the finest training to take their place alongside international artists.

On April 4, Feldbrill will celebrate his 90th birthday. His remarkable talent continues to be recognized with awards from composers, educators, and governments, which he describes as “gratifying.” He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada (1986), received the Order of Ontario (1999), an Honorary LLD from Brock University (1991), Honorary FRHCM (1978), and the inaugural Roy Thomson Hall Award (1985). This year the Royal Conservatory of Music named him an Honorary Fellow (2014) for his “extraordinary contributions” to music in Canada, and the historic Arts and Letters Club is awarding him the Sir Ernest MacMillan Honorary Membership for Music (2014).

The Toronto Musicians’ Association is pleased to announce that on May 25th, 2014, Maestro Victor Feldbrill will receive the Association’s highest honour, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Toronto Musicians’ Association is delighted to recognize Dave Young & Jeanne Lamon with our Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the group Billy Talent with our Musician of the Year Award for 2012

The Toronto Musicians’ Association is delighted to recognize Dave Young with our Lifetime Achievement Award

Dave Young

Dave Young joined the Toronto Musicians’ Association in 1967, one of the rare bassists who is truly at ease swinging a bow or walking in a jazz rhythm section. He has been a member of the Edmonton Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and, in his home town, the Winnipeg Symphony.

At the same time, Dave has been a first call “go-to” jazz bass player since he arrived in Toronto, where he has gained a reputation as not only a great bassist but as a joy to work with. Highlights of his illustrious career include his work from 1961 to 1966 with Lenny Breau, and of course his 35-year association with Oscar Peterson, as well as performances with Clark Terry, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Zoot Simms, Oliver Jones, Kenny Burrell, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Nat Adderly, Peter Appleyard, Joe Williams, Gary Burton, Barney Kessell, Ed Bickert, Ranee Lee, Marcus Belgrave, Don Thompson, Kenny Burrell, and James Moody.

Dave has also recorded as a leader, including We Three with Phil Dwyer and Michele Lambert, Tale of the Fingers with special guest Cedar Walton, Mainly Mingus, and, with co-leader Phil Dwyer, Fables and Dreams, which won a Juno Award as Best Mainstream Jazz Album in 1994. Two by Two – Volumes 1 & 2 (1995 & 96) featured Dave in duet performances with jazz legends Oscar Peterson, Cedar Walton, John Hicks, Mulgrew Miller, Tommy Flanagan, Ellis Marsalis, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Renee Rosnes, Cyrus Chestnut, and Oliver Jones. His most recent CDs are Mean What You Say, released in 2009, and Octet Volume One (2012) with the Dave Young-Terry Promane Octet.

As a teacher, for many years Dave has been a member of the Faculty of Music at The University of Toronto. As a classical player, he regularly tours with clarinetist James Campbell and pianist Gene Di Novi. For many years, he has been an ongoing feature in both classical and jazz groups at the annual Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario.

Dave was recently named a Member of The Order of Canada — our country’s highest civilian honour. Beyond the long list of accolades and acknowledgements, Dave is known for his pragmatic, realistic view of the music business, always ready to adapt, and to “put the music first.”

When not in the studio or on the stage, you will often find Dave Young playing a duo or some such with guitar or piano, in a small venue you might have discovered by accident, playing for the sheer enjoyment of it, surrounded by a small jazz-loving audience.

Putting the music first.

The Toronto Musicians’ Association is delighted to recognize Jeanne Lamon with our Lifetime Achievement Award

Jeanne Lamon

Jeanne recently announced that she will be stepping down as Music Director of Tafelmusik, an organization she has guided for over 30 years. In that time, the ensemble has put Toronto on the map as a centre of excellence in period performance. Under her leadership, they have travelled the globe, performing in over 325 cities in 30 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, and the Musikverein. With a discography of some 78 recordings — winning 9 Juno awards — on such labels as Sony Music, CBC Records, Analekta, BMG, Collegium, Hyperium, and now their own house label, Tafelmusik Media, they have shone a fresh light on a huge amount of repertoire, not just by achieving relentlessly exacting musical standards in everything they do, but by keeping the music relevant long after it was new. Jeanne was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000.

What makes Tafelmusik’s international success particularly remarkable is that so much of it was accomplished from an old church basement. Tafelmusik achieved greatness despite a lack of air conditioning, doors too narrow for a pair of timpani, a stage that needed to be torn down every Saturday night for church services, offices without windows, and a backstage area no bigger than a postage stamp. These obstacles were overcome in large part because Jeanne’s talent, passion, determination, and leadership ability allowed her to gather a critical mass of people with a common goal, whom she guided to become greater than the sum of its parts. That is truly a lifetime achievement.

It is leaders like Jeanne whose skills and vision create the institutions in our city that we as musicians depend upon for sustenance, both financial and — much more importantly — musical. Musicians are by nature dreamers, and we strive to communicate great ideas and emotions with notes. Some musicians, like Jeanne Lamon, are dreamers who cause their dreams to come true, and we are better for having them in our midst.

Thank you Jeanne, and congratulations on an exceptional journey!

Musician of the Year Award for 2012

The Toronto Musicians’ Association is delighted to recognize the group Billy Talent with our Musician of the Year Award for 2012

Billy Talent

Just find a style, so you can mimic
The tortured artist, the jaded cynic
The latest gadget, is just a gimmick
Another sucker, born every minute
“Surprise, Surprise” from Dead Silence — Billy Talent

Billy Talent

Billy Talent is a Canadian melodic punk rock, alt rock, post-hardcore band from Mississauga, formed in 1993 by lead vocalist Ben Kowalewicz, lead guitarist Ian D’Sa, bassist Jon Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk.

TMA members since 2004, the band existed for almost a decade before starting to find mainstream attention. Billy Talent’s major label debut album, Billy Talent I found much commercial success and went three times platinum in Canada. Billy Talent II hit the shelves in 2006. It fared very well in Canada, landing at number 1 in its debut week on the Canadian charts eventually going two times platinum, selling over 200,000 copies. The album also enjoyed significant success in Germany, where it also debuted at number 1 in the album charts, and was one of the ten top-selling albums that year, going platinum there as well. The band’s fourth album, Billy Talent III, was also released in the United States through Roadrunner Records.

During their career, the band has toured extensively across Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia, and are currently wrapping up 22 headlining arena tour dates before heading to Europe for additional dates in support of their current release, Dead Silence.

Billy Talent has racked up an impressive list of achievements and accolades, winning 2 CASBY Awards for favourite new single and new album in 2004. The band has won two ECHO awards in Germany, for Best International Newcomer and Best International Rock/Alternative Album in 2007. Billy Talent has received a significant amount of recognition in Canada, winning 9 awards from 29 nominations at the MuchMusic Video Awards, and 7 awards from 17 nominations at the JUNO Awards. Overall, Billy Talent has received 16 awards from 46
nominations in Canada. At this year’s JUNO awards, they are nominated for the Fan Choice Award, Group of the Year, and Rock Album of the Year.

If you’ve seen the video on YouTube, you can’t help but marvel at the sight of over 100,000 fans singing along to “Viking Death March,” the first track released to the public from Billy Talent’s latest album, Dead Silence. Watching the mass celebration of this song is powerful enough, but the fact that the track had only been released days before the band hit the stage at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany is testament to the loyalty of the band’s fans around the world.

Anne Murray

Anne Murray with Charlie Gray

I hate to think how long it’s been since I first heard Anne Murray sing at the Agricultural Exhibition in Truro, Nova Scotia — the mid-1960s, you do the math. At the time, it was a welcome break from the quilts, the cotton candy, the cattle, and the thrill of the Tilt-AWhirl. But I do remember that she came onstage barefoot and sang her heart out as though she were playing Carnegie Hall.

Anne claims to be retired, but I don’t believe it. Again and again, someone will search her out of her hiding place and into the public eye, for her musicality, her good humour, and her down-to-earth humanity. You don’t see a lot of that sort of thing, these days.

I worked in Anne’s back-up band for a couple of years, and it was the most enjoyable way to travel. Anne had just had a hit with “You Needed Me,” and in her wisdom decided she needed a trumpet to spruce things up. (These days, it is rare to find a pop musician who actually knows what a trumpet is for — sprucing things up!)

Anne has always appreciated and hired many musicians. When touring artists were beginning to reduce their bands to synths, drum machines, and recorded tracks to cut overhead, she was backed up by three horns, pedal steel, a full rhythm section, two guitars, and two singers. She usually hired a large local string section and percussion as well.

Anne was and is a big deal. She has played to massive audiences of adoring fans all over the world; I remember one of her opening acts being Jerry Seinfeld, and Lenny Breau played in one of her early bands. Toronto arranging luminaries Doug Riley and Rick Wilkins arranged for her, along with many other Toronto-based musicians. Anne has always had an ear for serious musicianship, as well as for a great studio and a perceptive engineer, and she was a member of Local 149 right from the start.

A true Canadian legend, Anne Murray is a Companion of the Order of Canada — the country’s highest civilian honour. She has sold more than 54 million albums. She is a best-selling author with her memoir, All Of Me. She has accumulated a record 24 JUNO Awards, four Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards and three Country Music Association Awards. She has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the JUNO Hall of Fame and The Songwriters Hall of Fame. She is a member of Nashville’s Walkway of Stars, and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She has literally had the world at her feet!

Anne’s artistry is matched by her generosity. A proud supporter of Canadian Women’s Foundation, Sheena’s Place, the David Suzuki Foundation, several East Coast charities and a member of the TELUS Atlantic Canada Community Board, Anne became a spokesperson for Colon Cancer Canada in 2008, and hosts the annual Anne Murray Charity Golf Classic to raise money for a cure. In 2010, she was one of eight notable Canadians who carried the Olympic Flag into the stadium at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Calling Anne a Legend doesn’t quite cover it; she also plays one hell of a game of golf !

by Charlie Gray