Membership and Contracts Coordinator
Full Time / Permanent 36.25 hours per week
2022 Salary – $726.84 Weekly / $37796 Annually
Employer Pension Contributions at 11.5% on top of Salary
Full individual or family Health & Dental Plan
Located at TMA Offices
Part of UNIFOR 2003E-50 Collective Bargaining Unit
Submit maximum one page CV and one page Cover Letter to operations@tma149.ca by Thursday April 14, 2022 @ 11:59 PM
Be part of a small team dedicated to serving professional musicians in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto Musicians’ Association (TMA) is Local 149 of the Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) and American Federation of Musicians (AFM). Together with the CFM and AFM, TMA aims to serve 3,000 Toronto Area member professional musicians of all genres and backgrounds through organizing, promulgation, collective bargaining, and maintenance of agreements, as well as the development and delivery of services that improve musicians’ quality of life. TMA members are served by a professional staff and led by an Executive Director, who reports to a board of directors comprised entirely of local professional musicians.
This opportunity is to join the professional staff.
The incumbent in this role will have a primary focus of Membership Registration & Development. This position calls for multitasking with data tasks, while providing great service and information to past, current, and potential members, as well as staff and board, on the phone, through email and in person. Additionally, the role will look to communicate events and news from TMA and its members to the entire membership on social media and web. The role will also be expected to fill in for many of the other tasks listed below as part of a small team with an increasing emphasis on flexibility in order to best serve all musician members. TMA is in an exciting time of transition and is looking for team members who bring a motivated and flexible attitude while learning and contributing to positive change. If you believe in the power of music, respect the musician’s role in the creation, performance and recording of music, and respect a musician’s right to professional standards and quality of life, the professional staff at TMA is a great team for you.
Responsibilities
1 Membership Responsibilities (Primary focus)
1.1 Communicate with and support current, prospective, and former members and other stakeholders when asked questions, or when reaching out over phone, phone message, email or in person regarding:
a. Requirements for membership
b. TMA membership benefits
c. TMA contracting benefits; and
d. Any other information that may be reasonably known and/or for which training is given that would contribute to the member or stakeholder’s quality of life as it relates to TMA
1.2 Process and complete data entry of membership applications from the TMA website, the AFM/CFM database, or any other method as directed
1.3 Update TMA membership files on the TMA website, database and accounting software, the AFM/CFM database, and the MPFC database, when member joins, changes status, changes membership type, changes locals, resigns, is suspended, is expelled, is deceased
1.4 Process membership dues payments and refunds by all accepted methods of payment
1.5 Add, Edit and Remove pre-authorized payers and process and audit pre-authorized payments
1.6 Verify membership status for various stakeholders
1.7 Track, Reach out To and Follow-Up with Members and Non-Members on phone, email and social media regarding their current, past or future membership status
1.8 Maintain and track incoming and outgoing mail log
1.9 Manage small and large mail, email, and phone call distribution
1.10 Create various membership reports for accounting and reporting purposes at end of day / week / quarter / year / on demand
1.11 Prepare and provide, within required timelines, the following for Board Meetings, General Meetings, Orientation Meetings, Special Meetings, and Special Events
a. schedules,
b. agendas,
c. RSVP’s
d. minutes,
e. required documents,
f. attendance,
g. audio/visual support,
h. technical support, and
i. hospitality
1.12 Seeking proper authorization, process claims to:
a. Health, Welfare and Education Fund
b. Sick Pay
c. Members Assistance Fund
d. American Income Life Insurance Benefits
e. other funds as directed.
1.13 Check general phone messages and email messages, answer inquiries if able, or relay messages to best staff or board to address questions
1.14 Maintain and purchase office supplies, including hospitality supplies
2 Contracts Responsibilities (as needed)
2.1 Know and Understand TMA/AFM/CFM Contracting System and all Agreements, both negotiated and promulgated, that musicians may work under.
2.2 Analyze online and social media events, recordings and other data to detect and report on areas where covered work may be occurring that is not using TMA/AFM/CFM contracts, or not using them correctly.
2.3 Communicate with and support current, prospective and former members and other stakeholders when asked questions, or when reaching out over phone, phone message, email or in person regarding:
a. Requirements for contracts
b. TMA contracting benefits.
2.4 Analyze and process submitted contracts / payroll information from hard copies, email, the TMA website, the AFM/CFM database, or any other method as directed.
2.5 Enter Data from contract and payroll submissions into the TMA database and Update TMA contract files, in TMA physical files, and on TMA database and accounting software.
2.6 Audit automatic entry of information from contract and payroll submissions on TMA database.
2.7 Copy, send and assure review of contracts, forms and payments for stakeholders such as AFM/CFM and MPFC.
2.8 Educate self on potential activity that would require a contract and follow-up with engagers responsible for that activity.
2.9 Follow-up with engagers and / or leaders and / or contractors that:
a. Where a contract or payroll submission can reasonably be expected but has not been submitted
b. Where a contract or payroll submission is submitted but does not meet the requirements of the agreement they are submitted under
c. Where payments accompanying the contract or payroll submission are not what is required of the agreement they are submitted under
2.10 Invoice for and process work dues payments, and service fee payments and refunds by all accepted methods of payment
2.11 Add, Edit and Remove pre-authorized payers and payees and process and audit preauthorized payments
2.12 Process payroll for musicians if required.
2.13 Create various contract reports for accounting and reporting purposes at end of day / week / quarter / year / on demand.
2.14 Update TMA contract files, in TMA physical files, on the TMA website, database and accounting software, the AFM/CFM database, and the MPFC database, as required
3 Team Responsibilities (primary focus)
3.1 Answer general phone line, sit at welcome desk and host various stakeholders at in office and out of office meetings as required.
3.2 Sit on one board/staff committee and assist with membership, agreements, planning, operations support and reporting as agreed upon at that committee and under the guidance of the strategic plan and operations plan.
Qualifications
Knowledge of Musicians and Live Performance and Recording Sectors:
• you have knowledge of the professional music sector and music contracting in order to analyze, record and prepare documents, and explain procedures.
Administrative and Computer Skills:
• you demonstrate secretarial and administrative experience such as updating files, arranging meetings, completing travel arrangements, ordering transcripts, purchasing goods and services, processing payments.
• you are able to use social media, the web, database applications, computer equipment and related software such as Microsoft Office and Windows to complete research into musician activities, produce letters, memoranda, reports and to enter information into and maintain a database of members and music contracts.
• you design and maintain websites, ads, and other electronic design materials for the web and other applications, especially using Joomla.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills:
• you have excellent oral and written communication skills to provide information to musicians, staff, board, engagers, and other stakeholders.
• your interpersonal skills enable you to work effectively as a team member with minimal supervision.
Analytical, Judgement and Organizational Skills:
• you demonstrate initiative and good judgement by using appropriate methods of time management and organization in order to minimize mistakes and maximize the value of information in the analysis and recording of information.
• you are able to prioritize your workload while meeting conflicting deadlines.
Relationship Management and Communication Skills:
• you can provide effective consultation services and contribute to complex briefing notes and materials.
• you can develop and maintain strong relationships with members, staff, board, engagers, partners, agencies and other stakeholders.
Kristofer Maddigan – 2017 Member of the Year
“Definitely not. This is way out of my comfort zone.”
Cuphead received many nominations for its score, including most recently being named Best Music at the BAFTA Games Awards. But there’s no doubt that it’s more than a typical game soundtrack; it was released as a deluxe four-LP vinyl box set, spent thirteen weeks on the Billboard Jazz charts, and received a Juno nomination for Instrumental Album of the Year.
Visually, Cuphead is inspired by cartoons of the 1930’s, and the score echoes the same era. Its Ellington and Joplin-inspired tracks feature some of Canada’s top jazz musicians – a total of 42 musicians performed on the soundtrack, including featured soloists John Johnson, Alex Dean, Mike Murley, Steve McDade, and Al Kay. Kris credits the assistance of John Herberman, saying, “He taught me everything I know,” and says of game developers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, “It was they who quit their jobs and remortgaged their homes to finance the making of the game, and it was also they who shared (importantly) paid for our dream of hiring real musicians.”
The Toronto Musicians’ Association salutes Kris for his remarkable accomplishments and is delighted to name him our Musician of the Year for 2017.
Lawrence Cherney – 2017 Life Achievement Award
It has been his destiny to be a pioneer in Canadian music: charter member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (1969-72); Founding Member of the York Winds (1972-82); Founding Artistic Director of the summer festival Music at Sharon (1981-1994);and Founding Artistic Director of Soundstreams (1982-present).
He has commissioned over 150 new Canadian works for the oboe, and has collaborated with most of contemporary music’s giants. He has toured throughout North America, Europe, and Israel as recitalist and guest artist with major orchestras and string quartets, and has recorded for numerous labels and European radio networks, gathering five Juno nominations and prizes at the European Broadcasting Union. In 2003, he was invested in the Order of Canada.
Lawrence’s passion for excellence in the pursuit of Canadian music inspired him to expand his horizons beyond performing. Music at Sharon was renowned as a showcase for Canadian music and was the most broadcast festival in the country on CBC Radio 2. Under his leadership, Soundstreams has grown to become one of the most dynamic organizations of its kind in the world, ans has commissioned 170 new Canadian works in all genres. It produces an eclectic MainStage series, the Ear Candy series in more intimate venues, and a new monthly outreach/performance series, Encounters. The organization has a state-of-the-art web platform, including its innovative SoundMakers project. The annual Emerging Composers Workshop provides high quality mentorship to gifted young composers.
Lawrence has forged bold new directions in this, SoundStreams’ 35th anniversary season. The organization recently gave the world premiere staging of Claude Vivier’s Musik fur das Ende. Attended by thirteen international artistic directors, it received a rave full-page review from The New York Times. Tours to major venues and festivals in the USA and Europe are now projected for 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Canada continues to produce some of the finest composers in the world, but they merit greater recognition at home and abroad. Lawrence Cherney has dedicated an entire career to providing a national and international platform for their talents as means of creating a lasting legacy for their work. For these efforts, and for his lasting impact on musical life in Toronto and across the country, the Toronto Musicians’ Association is proud to present Lawrence Cherney with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Letter to Mayor John Tory re: IATSE Lockout at Exhibition Place
Lifetime Achievement & Musician of the Year Awards
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.
Listen to the Band & Walk with Us for Fairness in the 2017 Toronto Labour Day Parade
Maribeth Solomon, 2019 Musician of the Year
by Lenny Solomon
My earliest memories of my fantastically talented sister Maribeth Solomon are of her playing Mozart impeccably on the piano. She was five.
Her talent, personality and wit kicked off her career with a number of touring groups while she was also a regular host on the CBC radio show ‘ 9:15 Alarm Clock ‘ co-hosted by the late Alan Thicke. This show is where she met and later married her musical partner Micky Erbe, also a fantastically talented writer, orchestrator and musician. Their company, Mickymar Productions became well known internationally for their wonderful music for TV and Film — and of interest — the many IMAX movie scores they wrote were produced by Maribeth’s great friend, the late pioneer Toni Myers.
Also a gifted songwriter, Maribeth has been recorded by Anne Murray among others and written songs for Babar and Care Bears animated movies.
I’m fortunate to have witnessed Maribeth in action; in the writing room, business office and recording studio where I contracted for her. Maribeth’s creative energy abounds. Anyone who has met her would agree that she is a delightful force to be reckoned with.
Together, Maribeth and Micky have written and produced in a wide range of styles including many large orchestral recording sessions. Nothing makes her happier than having the opportunity to hire the hundreds of Local 149 musicians over the years as she has. (Brian Barlow, former President of the TMA has been a stalwart since the beginning, as has Brent Barkman along with many other fine players.)
Here is a small sample of some shows she has scored:
Earth: Final Conflict (Emmy Nominated, Gemini Award), Nothing Too Good For A Cowboy, Street Legal, Side Effects, Adderly, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Struggle for Democracy, E.N.G. The pair has won four Gemini awards and many other nominations. IMAX films include: Hubble 3D, Under the Sea, Space Station 3D, Blue Planet, The Dream is Alive, Destiny in Space and Imax’s first doc North of Superior.
Maribeth has just recently completed all six seasons of music and the theme for the multi-Emmy Award winning CBC Netflix TV show Schitt’s Creek. Working with Brent Barkman and Micky she’s composed music for several games as well. Maribeth has always lived in Toronto and is a passionate and outspoken member of local 149 setting a formidable example to follow — a trendsetting musician, writer/ composer, business-woman and producer. I know her husband Robert Schwartz, daughter (and fine songwriter) Leah Erbe, dog Teddy and brother, yours truly, are very proud of Maribeth for this well-deserved recognition.
The Toronto Musicians’ Association is proud to honour member Maribeth Solomon with the 2019 Musician of the Year Award. She has been a member of the Toronto Musicians’ Association since she was a teenager and we are delighted to acknowledge her musicianship and contribution to the Toronto music scene by naming Maribeth Solomon 2019 Musician of the Year.
Master Agreement Between Toronto Symphony Orchestra & TMA149 Ratified
The agreement brings increases in scale and electronic media compensation while allowing the orchestra to continue its pursuit as a top Canadian cultural institution. The fundamental driver of this agreement was the TSO Negotiations Committee made up of TMA149 members Camille Watts, Vanessa Fralick, Peter Seminovs, Gabriel Radford, Neil Deland, Jeffrey Beecher, under the leadership of Orchestra Committee Chair Shane Kim. They are an incredible example of respectively and persistently pursuing a better quality of life and music making for themselves and their fellow musicians.
May 8, 2020 Covid-19 Town Hall Meeting Recording
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvCSrhjaRy4&feature=youtu.be
TEXT OF CHAT
10:19:14 From Scott Harrison To Michael Murray(privately) : ya, Im here :)
10:27:22 From Dominique Laplante : that is correct number
10:39:42 From Kate Unrau : The covid special media agreement. I have concerns.
10:39:51 From user : Need to extend the CERB..We will need it.
10:39:59 From Brandon Chui : Re: CERB, do you know if one’s eligibility changes if s/he leaves the country for any given period of time?
10:40:26 From Dominique Laplante To Michael Murray(privately) : we didn’t receive notice of this meeting until this morning. looked through junk, trash, etc. and nothing there.
10:40:30 From Kate Unrau : The agreement is a little broken. It keeps payroll going for contracted players who have cancellations with the organization in the month following the broadcast, but it doesn’t acknowledge all the people whose work is actually on the material being broadcast. Freelance extras are getting lost in the shuffle here.
10:42:28 From Kate Unrau : Thanks, Michael.
10:42:50 From Scott Harrison : https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/apply-for-cerb-with-cra/who-apply.html
10:43:03 From Scott Harrison : “You reside in Canada and are at least 15 years old”
10:43:18 From Scott Harrison : no mention of that
10:43:25 From Brandon Chui : What if this person American?
10:44:25 From Linda cara To Michael Murray(privately) : April 30
10:45:03 From Dominique Laplante To Michael Murray(privately) : didn’t get that on April 30!
10:47:06 From Mic Dim : What about the $40,00 loan? What does that entail?
10:47:15 From Scott Harrison : https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application/questions.html#eligibility
10:47:27 From Scott Harrison : From that page: “Can you receive the CERB if you are not a citizen or permanent resident?
Yes if you meet the eligibility requirements, which includes residing in Canada and having a valid Social Insurance Number.”
10:47:32 From Kevin Barrett : Michael – you and the Board and staff continue to do a GREAT job for us. Thank you!
10:48:46 From Michael Murray : https://www.bdc.ca/en/pages/special-support.aspx?special-initiative=covid19
10:50:01 From Mic Dim : Don’t most bands have independent contractors, so there is no payroll. most musicians are paid on a gig basis
10:51:03 From Mic Dim : musicians are paid by cheque per show, so there is no payroll. So that means no loan?
10:53:18 From Liz Johnston : Just wanted to share some info: OCSM General Meeting is now going to meet May 27-29 on line, from 12:00-2:00 each day, and we are extending our invites to include PC chairs, alternate delegates as well as delegates and anyone else in the orchestra unit who is interested to observe.
10:53:35 From Liz Johnston : VP
10:54:00 From Liz Johnston : YEs
10:54:17 From Liz Johnston : That would be great
10:54:54 From Liz Johnston : We also have our regular business in August
10:55:09 From Liz Johnston : Unknown yet
10:55:15 From Liz Johnston : yes
10:55:31 From Liz Johnston : This will be more of the delegate report meeting
10:56:19 From Ellen Moore : Is there any information about the survival of our major organizations— COC, Ballet, TSO, Mirvish? Possibility any of these large organizations will not survive?
10:56:21 From Liz Johnston : Yes we are
10:59:38 From Linda cara To Michael Murray(privately) : on cp24…Mirvish saying Hamilton will return its run but no date given..just saw it now
11:00:53 From Cala : Thank you Michael & the TMA. I have to leave early. Talk soon, stay safe, keep making noise.
11:04:18 From Mic Dim To Michael Murray(privately) : Please try to check out any alternative measures for most bands that are not Orchestras, but are Top 40, Tribute, etc. These bands have lost a huge amount of shows. For us example is about 150 shows per year. We can only get CERB individually even though we employ other musicians full time on a independent basis. But there is no payroll, just being paid per show by cheque, however a lot of money has been lost.
11:04:45 From Michael Murray : https://covid-19.ontario.ca/
11:05:01 From Dominique Laplante : Thanks Michael and TMA for soldiering on in our behalf!
11:05:05 From Michael Murray : https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-support-people#section-4
11:05:24 From Michael Murray : https://www.connexontario.ca/
11:05:49 From Patrick Jordan : Happy to say the Tafelmusik management leadership is also doing well.
11:05:54 From Mic Dim : My many thanks to you Michael and everyone who is putting their time and effort into giving us more information.
11:08:00 From Scott Harrison : If you haven’t already, please sign the petition on https://www.savelivearts.ca
11:08:27 From Kate Unrau : Just a comment: I’d love to see online attendance like this as a continued possibility for TMA general meetings, even after COVID. Something to consider down the road… Team TMA is terrific, and it’s great to stay in contact. Thanks again.
11:08:28 From Jay Boehmer To Michael Murray(privately) : As well, MPTF elected to pay out 9 performances that were cancelled due to COVID-19
11:08:45 From Linda cara : As President, I would like to thank Michael and staff for the incredible amount of work they are doing for all of us during this very difficult time..thank you also to the Board..everyone has really gone above and beyond
11:09:17 From Jay Boehmer To Michael Murray(privately) : Free and open to the public!
11:09:21 From Mic Dim : I agree Kate Online attendance is a great way to give much needed information to many musicians to learn
11:09:27 From Dominique Laplante : ???
11:09:51 From DSW : Thanks Michael!!! Stay Healthy!!
11:10:34 From Maria Pelletier : Thanks, Michael!
11:10:52 From Liz Johnston : Thanks Michael!
11:10:58 From Lorne Grossman : thank you Michael.
11:11:02 From DSW : Where can we find previous town hall????
11:11:08 From Rea Beaumont, DMA : Thanks!!
11:11:16 From Lorne Grossman : bye
TE
Mike Murley TMA Musician of the Year 2007
In the words of Toronto Star critic, Geoff Chapman:
“Murley always raises the level of the game around him, effortlessly innovative, polished and demonstrating technical skill that you take for granted.”
As a long time member of ‘Time Warp’ he founded Cornerstone Records in 1993 along with co-leaders Barry Elmes and Al Henderson. More recently Murley has collaborated as a co-leader and/or sideman in various groups with guitarist David Occhipinti, pianist David Braid, and saxophonist Tara Davidson. In January 2008 he released two co-led recordings, ‘DMBQ Live’ with the Davidson/Murley/Braid Quintet and ‘Day & Night’ with his former teacher, the legendary American saxophonist David Liebman.
Mike has toured extensively throughout Canada and internationally in Europe, South America, Asia, Mexico and the US with various groups. He has performed with many top international and Canadian jazz artists, including: Kenny Wheeler, Randy Brecker, John Abercrombie, Renee Rosnes, Ed Bickert, Guido Basso and Rob McConnell.
Mike joined the TMA in June of 1982.
MROC May Have Money for You!
If you are a musician or vocalist who has performed on a sound recording released during the last 50 years, MROC may have money for you!
MROC pays musicians neighbouring rights royalties related to the broadcast and public performance of their sound recordings. This includes royalties from commercial radio, CBC radio, XM/Sirius and businesses such as fitness clubs and retail stores. MROC also distributes private copying royalties collected from the importers of blank media CD-Rs.
This is an additional stream of royalties to the one that SOCAN pays songwriters and music publishers. If you are a songwriter and a musician, you need to register with both SOCAN and MROC.
MROC is the only collective in Canada for musicians governed by musicians.
Visit www.musiciansrights.ca and register.
Or contact us…
Email: info@musciansrights.ca
Phone: 416-510-0279 (Toll Free) 1-855-510-0279
Music Director Jeanne Lamon is presented with the TMA Lifetime Achievement Award
Tafelmusik was joined on stage by Jim Biros, Executive Director of the Toronto Musicians’ Association, Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. Mr. Biros presented Music Director Jeanne Lamon with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Toronto Musicians’ Association (TMA). The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a 20+ year TMA member who has demonstrated significant achievement in the areas of musical excellence, music education and/or public service through music, and whose contribution to the musical community has received significant public recognition. Past recipients include Guido Basso, Howard Cable…
– To view the rest of article & see pictures of award presentation visit the Tafelmusik website.
New benefits for Toronto Musicians’ Association Local 149 Members
We are pleased to announce that as a member of the Toronto Musicians’ Association Local 149, you now qualify for exclusive group rates on your home and auto insurance through our new partnership with The Personal Insurance Company.
Whether on the road or in your home, we offer options to ensure you get the coverage you need at the right price. Since 1974, The Personal has been committed to providing exclusive group rates and customized coverage on home and auto insurance, and it has earned the trust of more than 700 Canadian organizations.
Switch to The Personal, and you’ll have access to:
Plus coverages for:
Get your exclusive group rates!
1-888-476-8737
www.thepersonal.com/tma149
P.S. – Enter The Personal 2016 My Winning Quote contest and you could win $30,000 for an eco-friendly home renovation. To enter, get a home or auto insurance quote!
The Personal refers to The Personal Insurance Company. Certain conditions, limitations and exclusions may apply. Savings and discounts are subject to eligibility conditions, may vary by jurisdiction and may not apply to all optional coverages. The terms and conditions of the coverages described are set out in the insurance policy, which always prevails. Auto Insurance is not available in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia due to government-run plans. Client comments were obtained from and approved by our clients and may have been translated from their original language.
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New Job Posting at TMA149
Membership and Contracts Coordinator
Full Time / Permanent 36.25 hours per week
2022 Salary – $726.84 Weekly / $37796 Annually
Employer Pension Contributions at 11.5% on top of Salary
Full individual or family Health & Dental Plan
Located at TMA Offices
Part of UNIFOR 2003E-50 Collective Bargaining Unit
Submit maximum one page CV and one page Cover Letter to operations@tma149.ca by Thursday April 14, 2022 @ 11:59 PM
Be part of a small team dedicated to serving professional musicians in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto Musicians’ Association (TMA) is Local 149 of the Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) and American Federation of Musicians (AFM). Together with the CFM and AFM, TMA aims to serve 3,000 Toronto Area member professional musicians of all genres and backgrounds through organizing, promulgation, collective bargaining, and maintenance of agreements, as well as the development and delivery of services that improve musicians’ quality of life. TMA members are served by a professional staff and led by an Executive Director, who reports to a board of directors comprised entirely of local professional musicians.
This opportunity is to join the professional staff.
The incumbent in this role will have a primary focus of Membership Registration & Development. This position calls for multitasking with data tasks, while providing great service and information to past, current, and potential members, as well as staff and board, on the phone, through email and in person. Additionally, the role will look to communicate events and news from TMA and its members to the entire membership on social media and web. The role will also be expected to fill in for many of the other tasks listed below as part of a small team with an increasing emphasis on flexibility in order to best serve all musician members. TMA is in an exciting time of transition and is looking for team members who bring a motivated and flexible attitude while learning and contributing to positive change. If you believe in the power of music, respect the musician’s role in the creation, performance and recording of music, and respect a musician’s right to professional standards and quality of life, the professional staff at TMA is a great team for you.
Responsibilities
1 Membership Responsibilities (Primary focus)
1.1 Communicate with and support current, prospective, and former members and other stakeholders when asked questions, or when reaching out over phone, phone message, email or in person regarding:
a. Requirements for membership
b. TMA membership benefits
c. TMA contracting benefits; and
d. Any other information that may be reasonably known and/or for which training is given that would contribute to the member or stakeholder’s quality of life as it relates to TMA
1.2 Process and complete data entry of membership applications from the TMA website, the AFM/CFM database, or any other method as directed
1.3 Update TMA membership files on the TMA website, database and accounting software, the AFM/CFM database, and the MPFC database, when member joins, changes status, changes membership type, changes locals, resigns, is suspended, is expelled, is deceased
1.4 Process membership dues payments and refunds by all accepted methods of payment
1.5 Add, Edit and Remove pre-authorized payers and process and audit pre-authorized payments
1.6 Verify membership status for various stakeholders
1.7 Track, Reach out To and Follow-Up with Members and Non-Members on phone, email and social media regarding their current, past or future membership status
1.8 Maintain and track incoming and outgoing mail log
1.9 Manage small and large mail, email, and phone call distribution
1.10 Create various membership reports for accounting and reporting purposes at end of day / week / quarter / year / on demand
1.11 Prepare and provide, within required timelines, the following for Board Meetings, General Meetings, Orientation Meetings, Special Meetings, and Special Events
a. schedules,
b. agendas,
c. RSVP’s
d. minutes,
e. required documents,
f. attendance,
g. audio/visual support,
h. technical support, and
i. hospitality
1.12 Seeking proper authorization, process claims to:
a. Health, Welfare and Education Fund
b. Sick Pay
c. Members Assistance Fund
d. American Income Life Insurance Benefits
e. other funds as directed.
1.13 Check general phone messages and email messages, answer inquiries if able, or relay messages to best staff or board to address questions
1.14 Maintain and purchase office supplies, including hospitality supplies
2 Contracts Responsibilities (as needed)
2.1 Know and Understand TMA/AFM/CFM Contracting System and all Agreements, both negotiated and promulgated, that musicians may work under.
2.2 Analyze online and social media events, recordings and other data to detect and report on areas where covered work may be occurring that is not using TMA/AFM/CFM contracts, or not using them correctly.
2.3 Communicate with and support current, prospective and former members and other stakeholders when asked questions, or when reaching out over phone, phone message, email or in person regarding:
a. Requirements for contracts
b. TMA contracting benefits.
2.4 Analyze and process submitted contracts / payroll information from hard copies, email, the TMA website, the AFM/CFM database, or any other method as directed.
2.5 Enter Data from contract and payroll submissions into the TMA database and Update TMA contract files, in TMA physical files, and on TMA database and accounting software.
2.6 Audit automatic entry of information from contract and payroll submissions on TMA database.
2.7 Copy, send and assure review of contracts, forms and payments for stakeholders such as AFM/CFM and MPFC.
2.8 Educate self on potential activity that would require a contract and follow-up with engagers responsible for that activity.
2.9 Follow-up with engagers and / or leaders and / or contractors that:
a. Where a contract or payroll submission can reasonably be expected but has not been submitted
b. Where a contract or payroll submission is submitted but does not meet the requirements of the agreement they are submitted under
c. Where payments accompanying the contract or payroll submission are not what is required of the agreement they are submitted under
2.10 Invoice for and process work dues payments, and service fee payments and refunds by all accepted methods of payment
2.11 Add, Edit and Remove pre-authorized payers and payees and process and audit preauthorized payments
2.12 Process payroll for musicians if required.
2.13 Create various contract reports for accounting and reporting purposes at end of day / week / quarter / year / on demand.
2.14 Update TMA contract files, in TMA physical files, on the TMA website, database and accounting software, the AFM/CFM database, and the MPFC database, as required
3 Team Responsibilities (primary focus)
3.1 Answer general phone line, sit at welcome desk and host various stakeholders at in office and out of office meetings as required.
3.2 Sit on one board/staff committee and assist with membership, agreements, planning, operations support and reporting as agreed upon at that committee and under the guidance of the strategic plan and operations plan.
Qualifications
Knowledge of Musicians and Live Performance and Recording Sectors:
• you have knowledge of the professional music sector and music contracting in order to analyze, record and prepare documents, and explain procedures.
Administrative and Computer Skills:
• you demonstrate secretarial and administrative experience such as updating files, arranging meetings, completing travel arrangements, ordering transcripts, purchasing goods and services, processing payments.
• you are able to use social media, the web, database applications, computer equipment and related software such as Microsoft Office and Windows to complete research into musician activities, produce letters, memoranda, reports and to enter information into and maintain a database of members and music contracts.
• you design and maintain websites, ads, and other electronic design materials for the web and other applications, especially using Joomla.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills:
• you have excellent oral and written communication skills to provide information to musicians, staff, board, engagers, and other stakeholders.
• your interpersonal skills enable you to work effectively as a team member with minimal supervision.
Analytical, Judgement and Organizational Skills:
• you demonstrate initiative and good judgement by using appropriate methods of time management and organization in order to minimize mistakes and maximize the value of information in the analysis and recording of information.
• you are able to prioritize your workload while meeting conflicting deadlines.
Relationship Management and Communication Skills:
• you can provide effective consultation services and contribute to complex briefing notes and materials.
• you can develop and maintain strong relationships with members, staff, board, engagers, partners, agencies and other stakeholders.
Nominate a Musician for 2019 TMA149 Musician of the Year and 2020 Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Musician of the Year Award was created to allow our Members to recognize their peers for their talents and achievements in the previous calendar year.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was created to recognize distinguished members in our local. The first Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Moe Koffman posthumously, in 2001. It recognizes long-term achievements. The suggested criteria are as follows:
If you are interested in submitting a nomination, please fill out this form and forward it by mail, email or fax to the TMA office no later than April 14, 2020 to the attention of Derek Singh, Operations Manager email: dsingh@tma149.ca – fax: (416) 421-7011 – 15 Gervais Dr, Suite 500, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Y8
Nominations Open for 2018 TMA Member of the Year & Lifetime Achievement Award
Norm Amadio – Lifetime Achievement Award
Born in Timmins, Ontario, Norm made his professional debut at age 13, playing piano in a country music band. He had ideas of becoming an architect, but instead, influenced by the likes of Lennie Tristano, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell, left for Toronto at 17 to study with Boris Berlin at the Royal Conservatory.
He quickly emerged on the after-hours jazz scene at the House of Hambourg, worked with Chicho Valle and Jimmy Amaro, and later became a fixture at the Colonial Tavern, Silver Rail, Bourbon Street, First Floor Club, and George’s Spaghetti House. And, of course, the Town Tavern, where he led the house band during the fifties and sixties, backing many American jazz superstars: Roy Eldridge, Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Sims, Bill Harris, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Chet Baker, Carol Sloane, Mel Tormé, Anita O’Day, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, Howard McGhee, Max Roach, Carmen McRae, Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Irene Kral, and Bud Freeman.
One snowy night in 1956, when the rest of the band got delayed at the border, Miles Davis and drummer Philly Joe Jones played the Town with Norm, Ed Bickert, and Lenny Boyd. That year, he became the first and only Canadian to play at the original Birdland in New York City, opposite Duke Ellington. But he wasn’t happy there, saying that he preferred the “straight life” and that “coming back to Toronto saved my life.” He would, later in his career, perform in Switzerland, Eastern Europe and Japan.
The Norman Amadio Trio evolved from the 50s & 60s with Bill Britto and Archie Alleyne, through the 70s, 80s & 90s with Bob Price and Alex Lazaroff, and into the new millennium with Rosemary Galloway and Don Vickery.
Peter Goddard writes: “Reliability got him work. Unrivaled musicality gave him stature and clout. Jazz stars arriving in town wanted him. Or even needed him, as the veteran American singer Maxine Sullivan once told me.”
The Canadian and Toronto-based musicians Norm has worked with are too numerous to list, but include Tommy Ambrose, Don “D.T.” Thompson, Ed Bickert, Jack Lander, Moe Koffman, Guido Basso, Phyllis Marshall, Terry Clarke, Sam Noto, Debi Sander Walker, Jackie Richardson, Rick Wilkins, Neil Swainson, Reg Schwager, John MacLeod, Lorne Lofsky, Jerry Fuller, John McDermott, and Steve Wallace.
Norm was pianist and/or musical director for such CBC Television shows as Music Hop, Wayne & Shuster, Juliette, Hit Parade, Take 30 and Swing Gently, as well as TV specials with Robert Goulet, Al Hirt, Steve Lawrence, Kenny Rogers, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, and the two-hour live CBC Special 100 Years of Canada, featuring the 40-piece Norman Amadio Orchestra.
Norm also had the house orchestra at the Royal York’s Imperial Room in the late 80s, backing stars like Peggy Lee, Eddie Fisher, Bobby Darin, Donald O’Connor, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Mamas and The Papas, Bobby Rydell, Tommy Tune and Phyllis Diller. At the O’Keefe Centre, Norm worked with Judy Garland, Paul Anka, Engelbert Humperdinck, Red Skelton, The Supremes, and Bob Hope.
Alex Barris writes that “musicians and singers… were quickly aware that ego played no part in his work” and “through the many years of playing for some of the most famous musical artists around, he [has] remained a modest, soft-spoken, totally professional musician.”
Norm says of his career: “I never thought I’d get to play with all these people, but… I had a ball!”
The Toronto Musicians’ Association is delighted to recognize Norm Amadio with our Lifetime Achievement Award.
Notice of General Meeting
2017 ANNUAL MEETINGS
FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2017, 11:00 A.M. TMA Building Corp Annual Meeting 11:30 TMA Annual General Meeting
NORTH YORK CIVIC CENTRE (New Location)
COMMITTEE ROOM 3 (lower level)
5100 YONGE STREET, Toronto, ON (north of Sheppard)
LUNCH AND $20 PER MEMBER FOR PARKING OR OTHER EXPENSES WILL BE PROVIDED
Directions:
North York Civic Centre / Committee Rm. 3 / 5100 Yonge St. (north of Sheppard); Public Parking on Beecroft Rd. behind the Civic Centre
Subway stop: ‘North York Centre’ on the Yonge line.
Opinion Letter from Hogg, Shain and Scheck
re: The Canada Emergency Response Benefit and Self Employed Members
Orchestrating & Arranging Workshop – Saturday October 13 (10:00 AM – 12:30 PM)
Passage of the FAA BILL
The AFM APPLAUDS THE PASSAGE OF THE FAA Bill THAT SETS A CONSISTENT NATIONAL POLICY ALLOWING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ON AIRPLANES
After five years and 23 short-term extensions, Congress has passed legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the next four years. Included in the bill are provisions that create a uniform national policy regarding musical instruments on airplanes.
Any instrument that can be safely stored in the overhead compartment or underneath the seat may be brought on board as carry-on luggage. Additionally, the bill sets standard weight and size requirements for checked instruments, and permits musicians to purchase a seat for oversized instruments, such as cellos, that are too delicate to be checked. Existing law allowed each airline to set their own policy regarding musical instruments, and size requirements varied widely for both carry-on and checked baggage. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has been lobbying Congress to enact such a policy for nearly a decade. “This is great news for professional musicians throughout the U.S. and Canada who carry the tools of our trade – our instruments – aboard commercial aircraft,” said AFM President Ray Hair. “Ending the confusion over musical instruments as carry-on baggage has been a top legislative priority for nearly a decade. I am proud of our Government Relations Director, Hal Ponder and his assistant Laura Brigandi in our Washington legislative office for seeing the effort through. Musicians can now fly in friendlier skies.” The FAA reauthorization was passed by the House of Representatives on Friday, February 3 by a 248-169 vote. It subsequently passed the Senate on Monday, February 6, 75-20. The President is expected to sign the bill into law.
ABOUT THE AFM Founded in 1896, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM), AFL-CIO, is the largest organization in the world dedicated to representing the interests of professional musicians. With more than 90,000 members, the AFM represents all types of professional musicians, including those who record music for sound recordings, film scores, videogames, radio, television and commercial announcements, as well as perform music of every genre in every sort of venue from small jazz clubs to symphony orchestra halls to major stadiums. Whether negotiating fair agreements, protecting ownership of recorded music, securing benefits such as health care and pension, or lobbying legislators, the AFM is committed to raising industry standards and placing the professional musician in the foreground of the cultural landscape. For more information, visit the Web site at www.afm.org.
AFM; 1501 Broadway, Ste. 600; New York, NY 10036
Follow the AFM on Twitter http://twitter.com/musiciansunion and
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/afm.org
Past Lifetime Achievement Awards
The following is a listing of previous Lifetime Achievements Awards recipients.
NOTE: A Toronto Musicians’ Association “Special Recognition Award” was presented to Eugene Amaro in December 2005. Jerry Toth was given an award at one of the “Evening to Remember” dances at the Royal York years ago.
Past Musicians of the Year Awards
The following is a list of previous Musicians of the Year recipients.
Phil Nimmons Life Achievement Award 2008
In a brilliant career spanning six decades, jazz musician, composer and educator Phil Nimmons, O.C., O. Ont., B.A. has made an indelible contribution to the cultural life of Canada.
Born in Kamloops, B.C. in 1923 he graduated (1944) in pre-medicine from the University of British Columbia before taking up music studies (clarinet) at the Juilliard School, New York (1945-47) and at the Royal Conservatory of Music (composition), Toronto (1948-50). He formed the jazz ensemble Nimmons ‘N’ Nine in Toronto in 1953.
Enlarged to 16 musicians (Nimmons ‘N’ Nine Plus Six) in 1965, and active until 1980, the band enjoyed considerable popularity through regular CBC broadcasts and concert tours. Among its nine albums, made between 1956 and 1976, were recordings of the major Nimmons compositions The Atlantic Suite (1974) that received the first Juno Award ever given in the jazz category, and Transformations/Invocation (1976). Nimmons continued after 1980 to perform in small-band settings, recording the 2-CD Sands of Time with a quartet (2001).
A founding member of the Canadian League of Composers (1950), he co-founded the Advanced School of Contemporary Music (1960) with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown. Nimmons’ involvement in music education dates to 1960; he began teaching at the University of Toronto in 1973, and has helped to establish jazz programs elsewhere in Canada. He is now Director Emeritus of Jazz Studies at the U. of T. In addition to over 400 original jazz compositions and countless arrangements, Phil Nimmons has written numerous contemporary chamber and orchestral works for voice, piano, strings and other ensembles. His work includes commissions for Expo 67 (Montreal), UNESCO World Music Week (1975), the 1976 World Olympics, Expo 86 (Vancouver) (Skyscape: Sleeping Beauty and the Lions for concert band), and the 1988 Winter Olympics (The Torch for big band); he has composed scores for stage, film, radio and television, and contemporary concert presentation (Moods and Contrasts for the Esprit Orchestra, 1994).
In 2002, Phil Nimmons received the Governor General’s Award, the highest civilian award, for his contributions to Canadian music. The Toronto Musicians’ Association is proud to honour our distinguished Life Member Phil Nimmons with the TMA Lifetime Achievement Award.
President Ray Dillard’s Report
Annual General Meeting
Sunday May 27, 2012 (9 min.)
You can listen to the report now.
Proposed 2021 Covid-19 Relief from the TMA149 Board of Directors
The following proposed by-law amendments and motions aim to provide relief for TMA149 members from the continued financial, social, physical and mental burden of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the related public gathering restrictions. The proposals are pending membership approval at the December general meeting and approval by the Federation International Executive Board.
2021 Covid-19 Motion 1 of 6 – Dues Relief and Restructure
2021 Covid-19 Motion 2 of 6 – Expelled Status Relief
2021 Covid-19 Motion 3 of 6 –Reinstatement Relief
2021 Covid-19 Motion 4 of 6 –Work Dues Relief for Music Lessons
2021 Covid-19 Motion 1 of 6 – Dues Relief and Restructure
WHEREAS TMA members have suffered a great loss of income and wellbeing from the Covid-19 Pandemic and the associated public gathering restrictions;
AND WHEREAS the TMA Board of Directors wishes to grant members relief of regular dues for 2021 as members respond to, and recover from, the pandemic and its effects;
AND WHEREAS the Federation has not signalled any plans to lower the per capita tax of $16.50 per quarter per member owing from TMA to the Federation, regardless of the dues charged by TMA to its members;
AND WHEREAS TMA members wish to ensure the TMA remains properly funded and fiscally sound for the long recovery ahead;
AND WHEREAS it is believed that TMA will achieve more long-term member engagement from a discount for paying four or more quarters, or signing up for pre-authorized payment, at any time of the year, versus an early calendar year discount;
AND WHEREAS the TMA Board of Directors wishes to provide quarterly payment as an option for Life, Student and Youth members, and clarify what makes a member eligible for Student and Youth membership.
THE TMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MOVES that the following amendments be made to TMA by-laws to provide relief:
(a) 255.00 paid in four equal quarterly instalments of $63.75 per quarter payable in January, April, July and October
OR
(b) $235.00 paid in full before the 31st day of January. $58.75 per quarter when paying for four or more quarters at once. Notwithstanding, dues shall be $49.00 per quarter when paying for four or more quarters at once between January 1st and December 31st, 2021 in order to provide relief in the recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
OR
(c) $58.75 per quarter when registering for ongoing pre-authorized payment by quarter. Notwithstanding, dues shall be $49.00 per quarter when registering for ongoing pre-authorized payment by quarter between January 1st and December 31st, 2021 in order to provide relief in the recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Members who prepaid for any quarters in 2021 or future years on or before December 31, 2020 will have a quarter added to their membership at no charge in order to provide relief in the recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic
NOTE: The annual dues include Federation per capita tax as required by the AFM By-Laws.
Effective January 1st, 2021, (a) the dues payable per quarter by Life members are $27.50.
(b) the dues payable per quarter by Youth & Student members are $30.00.
(c) Youth members are eligible until the end of the quarter following their 21st birthday.
(d) Student members are eligible from the first quarter they provide proof of enrollment in full time post-secondary education when signing up or renewing.
(e) Student and Youth members may pay dues per quarter for up to four quarters of membership when signing up or renewing.
2021 Covid-19 Motion 2 of 6 – Expelled Status Relief
WHEREAS TMA members have suffered great losses of income and wellbeing from the Covid-19 Pandemic and the associated public gathering restrictions;
AND WHEREAS an Expelled membership status due to non-payment does not have the same meaning within the economic environment of the pandemic;
AND WHEREAS The AFM International Executive Board has provided locals with the ability to extend the automatic expulsion of members who fail to pay their 2020 periodic membership dues;
AND WHEREAS Article 10(3)(b) of the TMA By-laws states “A member suspended for non-payment of dues shall be automatically expelled for such non-payment after 6 months”;
THE TMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MOVES that, retroactive to July 1, 2020, the expelled deadline defined in Article 10 (3) (b) of the TMA By-Laws be extended until either the TMA Board passes a motion to reinstate the deadline, or until the AFM International Executive Board ends the provision for local boards to extend such deadlines, whichever comes first.
2021 Covid-19 Motion 3 of 6 –Reinstatement Relief
WHEREAS TMA members have suffered great losses of income and wellbeing from the Covid-19 Pandemic and the associated public gathering restrictions;
AND WHEREAS TMA Members who resigned in good standing during the pandemic and wish to be reinstated should be welcomed back with appreciation.
THE TMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS moves to reinstate Article 14 (2) of the TMA by-laws, originally suspended in a motion at the May 2020 General Meeting;
FURTHER THE TMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MOVES that the following amendment be made to the same article to provide greater relief:
2021 Covid-19 Motion 4 of 6 –Work Dues Relief for Music Lessons
WHEREAS the teaching of private and group music lessons remains regularly available work for musicians during the pandemic;
AND WHEREAS the TMA Board of Directors wishes to assist musicians at this time to ensure more of this work is reported to TMA;
AND WHEREAS the reporting of music lessons on contract will allow for members to become vested and remain vested in the Musicians Pension Fund of Canada;
AND WHEREAS TMA plans to launch an easy online music lesson reporting module in 2021;
THE TMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MOVES that the following amendment be made to TMA by-laws to provide relief:
Readthecode.ca – TMA149 Signs on to the Creative Industries Code of Conduct
TMA149 joins 42 Canadian music community groups making a commitment to foster safe and respectful workspaces.
Coalition of Canadian music organizations sign Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct, announce training & education resources will be available through Unison Benevolent Fund.
March 16, 2019, London, ON: A coalition of Canadian music community groups has joined in solidarity and is working towards environments free of harassment, discrimination, violence, and bullying for the music community.
Today the coalition announced that 42 music groups have formally signed on to the Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct. By signing on to the Code, the organizations are acknowledging their responsibility to build safe, respectful workplaces, and are committing to improving and implementing policies to keep the music community safe.
As a first step, members of the coalition have formed an Education, Training and Safe Support Committee, which is working to provide each member of the Canadian music community with the appropriate resources and training to identify, confront and prevent harassment, bullying and violence in any workplace. Unison Benevolent Fund has volunteered to host a suite of educational and training resources through its website at no cost. These resources will be made available to the music community at a later date.
Today’s announcement was made at Allies in Action, an event focused on initiatives undertaken or underway to create safer spaces as the Canadian music community gathers in London, Ontario for the 2019 JUNO Awards.
Because of the uniqueness of the music business and the spaces in which musicians and music workers often operate, the coalition has added the following music-specific preamble to the existing Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct:
“We, the Canadian music community signatories, support the Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct. We recognize that in the music industry, the terms work, workplace and work-related, are extremely broad and can include any physical or virtual spaces at any time.”
You can read the full Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct at www.ReadTheCode.ca
Additional organizations that would like to sign on to the Code can register online. Once the form has been completed, new signatories should email a high resolution company logo to info@readthecode.ca with your organization’s name and “Becoming Code signatory” in the subject line.
Music industry groups that have signed on to the Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct are:
RECORDING – Covid-19 Town Hall for TMA149 Members
Please view a ZOOM recording of the town hall streamed on March 25th, 2020, along with the chat here:
Respectful Workplaces in the Arts Workshops
For musicians identifying as Female and Non-Binary:
When: Nov 27, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsfuiupz4sGNe0zguwaYP4WyBABd2BBKwa
For musicians of all identities:
When: Dec 1, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpcqvqDosHNH51Gs42qAmI4qVmG6wpwHf
Revised Travel Grants Programs in Music
The Canada Council for the Arts is changing its travel grants programs to enhance funding opportunities for musicians, composers, bands and small ensembles.
The Travel Grants to Professional Musicians and Festival Travel Grants programs are being folded into one to create a single, flexible program supporting performance and professional development opportunities both nationally and internationally. This consolidated program is intended to support travel to activities that have a significant career benefit.
This program works in complement to the Grants to Professional Musicians – Individuals and Touring Grants in Music programs. The first deadline of the new Music: Travel Grants program will be February 15, 2013
Overview
Detailed program and eligibility criteria will be posted on the Canada Council for the Arts website in mid-December, 2012.
Questions?
Contact Nathalie Cléroux at
1-800-263-5588 ext. 4241, or
nathalie.cleroux@canadacouncil.ca
Shawn Mendes – 2015 Musician of the Year
This eventually brought him to the attention of Island Records/Universal Music, who signed him to a deal in 2014. That year, they released the then-15-year-old’s debut single, “Life of the Party.” Initially ignored by American radio, the track entered the Billboard 100 Singles chart at number 24, making Mendes the youngest artist to land a single in the top 25. The single was part of a four song EP, The Shawn Mendes EP. Like the single, the EP performed incredibly well, reaching number 5 on the Billboard charts and selling over 100,000 copies. For his efforts in 2014, he was nominated for a Juno award as Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
In the spring of 2015, the young artist’s first full length album, Handwritten, was released, debuting at number one in both Canada and the U.S. On the strength of this album, Mendes was nominated for four Junos this year: Juno Fan Choice Award, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Pop Album of the Year.
For making such a phenomenal explosion onto the world stage and his already impressive list of accomplishments, the Toronto Musicians’ Association is proud and honoured to name Shawn Mendes our Musician of the Year for 2015. We look forward to watching his career continue to grow in the coming years.
SOCAN Educates @ CMW 2011
Attention SOCAN members!
Are you planning on attending CMW this year?
If you are, be sure to check out the latest SOCAN education panels…
Saturday, March 12: 10:15 – 11:15 AM
Terry O’Brien”Know Your Alphabet: A Songwriters’ Introduction to Cha-Ching$”
Salon A – Fairmont Royal York Hotel
If you are a musician or emerging songwriter, your head is probably spinning with the ‘A-B-Cs’ of all the organizations out there – SOCAN, CMRAA, CFM, RE:Sound, CPCC and SX. This panel will clear up the confusion and show you where the money is, ad how to get it. Come and hear from these important organizations that manage your rights.
With panelists: Veronica Syrtash (CMRRA), Andrew Karis (ACTRA), Walter McDonough (Future of Music Coalition/Sound Exchange) and Arif Ahmad (Re:Sound).
Moderated by SOCAN’s Terry O’Brien.
Saturday, March 12: 11:15 – 12:15 PM
“Life of a Song: Anvil’s ‘Metal on Metal'”
Salon B – Fairmont Royal York Hotel
Rodney MurphySongwriters ask the question all the time; What is a hit song worth? Depending on the genre and performance type, there are always ball park figures. But the correct answer is… it depends upon the Life of the Song. Songs come and go on the charts, but the good ones always find their way back, again and again. This panel will focus on Anvil’s clasic hit; “Metal on Metal”. Hear how the song was written, became a success story and how it has been used over again through the years via covers, and placement in film, television and advertising. More importantly, hear how much money can be made from your song that just won’t go away!
With panelists: Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner from the band Anvil, Cheryl Link (peer Music) and David Hayman (music supervisor).
Moderated by SOCAN’s Rodney Murphy.
Special Guest Speaker – “Generating Copyright Royalties for Musicians”
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
“Generating Copyright Royalties for Musicians”
Julia Train
Senior Manager, Communications and Outreach
Musicians’ Rights Organization Canada (MROC)
Friday, October 27, 12:00-1:00 p.m. (immediately following the General Meeting)
Toronto Public Library – North Toronto Branch
40 Orchard View Blvd (Yonge & Eglinton)
(TTC: Eglinton)
Special Guest Speaker – “Introduction to Unison Benevolent Fund”
“Introduction to Unison Benevolent Fund, counselling and emergency financial assistance to members of the Canadian music industry”
Amanda Power
Executive Director
Unison Benevolent Fund
Friday, February 23, 2018 12:30-1:30 p.m. (immediately following the General Meeting)
Toronto Public Library – Sanderson Branch
327 Bathurst St (Bathurst & Dundas)
TTC: Bathurst Station + 511 Streetcar Southbound OR St. Patrick Station + 505 Streetcar Westbound
Staff Committees Beginning in February
TMA Staff will be pursuing strategic goals of the association in a committee structure for the first time beginning this February. Committees focused on Agreements, Membership, Operations and Strategy will make recommendations to the board of the TMA to increase the value of TMA membership and pursue the vision of the association.
Strengthening Canadian Content Creation, Discovery & Export in a Digital World
Example Responses
What are the most urgent challenges facing your industry in the creation, discovery and export of Canadian content in a digital world? Please select up to three items.
What are the most significant barriers facing your industry in the creation, discovery and export of Canadian content in a digital world? Please select up to three items.
The digital shift has created new types of content, such as digital newspaper articles with embedded video, as well as new aggregators and content providers, such as Google News, Netflix, YouTube, Spotify and many others.
As someone working in the culture sector, looking ahead to 2020, what will be the most important way(s) to provide access to content?
The two revenue models that will continue to gain strength are subscription and advertising, neither are regulated by the federal government.
The objectives of regulating foreign owned media entities online, such as Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, should be the same as the government has done with terrestrial radio and television.
Otherwise allow media companies to compete for the great Canadian market.
The federal government uses a range of tools to support the sector, including legislation, regulation, policies, funding mechanisms, and the operation of national institutions like CBC/Radio-Canada, among others.
Looking ahead, what do you believe will be the most effective tools for ensuring the creation and discovery of great Canadian content in a digital world? Please select up to five items.
Looking ahead, what do you believe will be the most effective tools to support the export of Canadian content to the world stage? Please select up to three items.
What are the key roles for CBC/Radio-Canada to play in supporting Canadian content creation, discovery and export in a digital world? Please select up to five items.
Do you believe there is sufficient local content available that is relevant to your community?
What type of local content would you like to see more of in your community? Please select up to five items.
What is being done in other countries, jurisdictions and the private sector that could be instructive to the Government of Canada in terms of best practices for supporting content creation and discovery in a digital world?
From Sweden: Outside of policy circles, a much more critical and interesting discussion is starting to take place, and it is one in which cultural workers need to engage. Innovation is increasingly being seen as a primary, if not the primary reason for support, particularly of the creative industries, but also of other cultural and arts activities. Much of this rests on a rather untested set of assertions about the links between innovation in the cultural sectors themselves and in the wider economy. The danger here for the cultural sectors is that if no such links can be clearly demonstrated (and there are already sceptics in some finance ministries, including the UK Treasury), then the arguments for supporting the cultural sectors themselves have already been weakened. I am generally of the view that non-instrumental public policy is an oxymoron, and the arguments for supporting the cultural sectors have always included a variety of instrumental rationales. But there is a danger in allowing the only rationales to be instrumental ones. If the current fashion for linking the cultural and creative sectors to wider innovation fades, and unless the supporting evidence for such process improves, the sectors themselves will have gained relatively little and will have sacrificed another claim on the public’s attention and taxes. However, there are more important reasons why cultural workers should start to engage in a critical discussion about innovation, and that is, simply, that it is not an uncontested good. Some innovations are harmful;
What is being done in other countries to promote the export of their cultural content?
Within the framework of the Government’s export strategy, the MFA and the Kreativ Sektor (Creative Sector) project have together created Showcase Sweden, a digital showcase for the Swedish cultural and creative industries. The aim is to make creative content accessible in a coordinated and useful format that can be used as a tool for press contacts, talks and meetings, for instance, but that can also be shown on screens in lobbies and waiting rooms and distributed to the broad public, potential customers and recipients of Swedish exports.
How important is it for you to have access to Canadian content in a digital world?
Very important
Please explain why it is important to you.
Canadian content remains important for us as a country to craft a voice, an economy, employment and pride in the larger media world. Now more than ever, with technology breaking down the physical and geographic barriers between content producer and audience, policy becomes a more key element in promoting Canadian content.
What other questions or issues as they relate to the goal of strengthening Canadian content creation, discovery and export in a digital world should we explore?
Most importantly, how can we modernize the Federal Status of the Artist Act to increase rights for creative people in modern agreement, governing the relationship between contract creative persons and producers? In this modernization the enabling of Canadian artists’ representative bodies to compel subcontractors of Status eligible producers, and also media distributors, both domestic and international to negotiate fair terms for Canadian creative persons, would ensure that Canada is the best place to live as a creative person. Subsequently Canadian content would increase in quality from the increased quality of the creative people we attract.
Team Changes: Farewell to Nancy, Judy and Dawn – Congratulations Derek and Julia
TMA149 is saying goodbye to three long-standing employees this month, and while we want to respect their wishes for a relatively quiet goodbye, we wanted to simply say thank-you for their unprecedented tenures. Nancy Neal, Membership & Contracts Coordinator, Judy Mitsuki, Membership & Contracts Coordinator, and Dawn Rodriques, Administrative Manager are retiring and their over 135 combined years of experience at TMA149 represents an immense contribution to our membership, the music sector and the Greater Toronto Area.
With the retirement of Dawn Rodriques the Board of Directors and Executive Director Michael Murray have appointed Derek Singh to the role of Operations Manager with the combined responsibilities of his former Systems Manager position and the position of Administrative Manager. In addition Julia Cleveland will be supporting Derek throughout 2020 and into 2021 as Solutions Consultant while we assess internal capacity and team structure in order to pursue our mission: a great quality of life for professional musicians in the Greater Toronto Area.
Please join the Board of Directors and Executive Director of TMA in congratulating all departing and newly appointed team members.
The Business of Art 2011
This April, in partnership with 918 Bathurst, Centre for Culture, Arts, Media and Education, CCCO is offering The Business of Art, a six week course to help artists take control of their career and plan the steps for their success
The Business of Art is
The class will be held at 918 Bathurst St., conveniently located near the Bathurst St. subway on Wednesdays from 6 PM – 9 PM, beginning April 20th and continuing until May 25th.
“I highly recommend this course. My business jumped 30% after I finished it. I left inspired and with a more defined vision for my career.”
– Kyra Millan, vocalist, arts educator and coach
“Taking The Business of Art course in 2009 was one of the most valuable things I have done…. It gave me insight into my practice and helped me define where I really want to go with it. It was a lot of work, but also great fun…. By the time I completed the course I had a 12-page five-year business plan and by the end of 2010 I had accomplished or attempted all the 14 goals I set for myself. I would highly recommend this course to any artist interested in taking the mystery out of the business end of being an artist.”
– Camilla Geary-Martin, sculptor
“Every artist deserves to be fairly compensated for their creation. If you take yourself seriously as an artist, and wish to take your art-as-business to the next level, The Business of Art Course is an invaluable introduction.”
– Bruce Dow, Actor, Broadway/Toronto, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
For more Information and easy registration, check www.workinculture.ca or call 416 – 340 – 0086.
Information also available at 918 Bathurst St. Centre 416 – 538–0868 or info@918bathurst.com
There is a limited enrollment for this course.
Stay in touch with CCCO by visiting our website to check for job postings, career skills and other business tips, and the latest in research and information!
The Good Brothers – 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award
Soon, The Good Brothers were packing El Mocambo five nights a week, and headlining at such venues as Massey Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, the National Arts Centre, and at L.A.’s Universal Amphitheatre with Gordon Lightfoot. Beginning in 1977, they won an astonishing eight consecutive Juno awards as Country Group of the Year. In 1980 their fifth album, Good Brothers “Live”, was certified gold, and they have since recorded ten more records. They continue to perform across Canada and the United States and have toured Europe 29 times.
Still going strong after over forty years, The Good Brothers were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in2004. The Toronto Musicians’ Association is proud to recognize their tremendous success with our Lifetime Achievement Award.
“When we joined our union back in the early 70s, we had no idea that this would be the beginning of such a long and significant relationship. Working with brothers can be both rewarding and challenging, but one thing is certain: we always have each other’s backs. As members of the TMA, we have always felt like we had another brother watching our backs, and that was the brotherhood of Local 149. We are now and always will be very proud to be a part of this organization.” – The Good Brothers
The Member Assistance Fund (MAF)
The Toronto Musicians’ Association Member Assistance Fund
August 28, 2013
In 2012, the Toronto Musicians’ Association Board of Directors appointed a Member Assistance Fund Committee comprised of Les Allt (Board of Directors), and myself, Réa Beaumont (Board of Directors) as Committee Chair.
The new MAF Committee has been busy revitalizing the Member Assistance Fund (MAF) and expanding its role to assist TMA members in financial need. The Member Assistance Fund was started in the early 1980’s by our member, the late Donald Pierre and his band, when they held a concert and donated the proceeds to start a fund to help TMA members.
The purpose of the Member Assistance Fund is to provide short-term aid to TMA members in good standing who are met with financial hardship as a result of long-term illness. Currently the Toronto Musicians’ Association provides “sick benefits” to eligible members in the amount of $75 per week, to a maximum of twelve weeks with approval from the Board of Directors.
The MAF Committee is pleased to announce that, after these twelve weeks have been exhausted, an additional six weeks of assistance (up to twelve weeks in special circumstances) may be approved and/or annual TMA membership dues reimbursed.
Extending the existing benefit is a significant step in the right direction to helping our members and we are now accepting applications. The MAF Committee appreciates the support it has received from the Board of Directors and wishes to thank Vice President Linda Cara and Administrative Manager Dawn Rodriquez for their time and input.
In order to maintain the Member Assistance Fund the MAF Committee will be spearheading fundraising initiatives so check back for updates as more details become available!
For additional information, please contact:
Dr. Réa Beaumont, Chair, MAF Committee
bodmem6tma149@gmail.com
c/o Toronto Musicians’ Association
15 Gervais Drive, Suite 500
Toronto, Ontario M3C 1Y8
The Rhythmic Arts Project
TMA 149 member Vito Rezza involved in international benefit to help children with special needs.
The Rhythmic Arts Project (TRAP) is a non-profit organization based in Carpinteria, California. Eddie Tuduri, Director of TRAP, was a full time musician until 11 years ago when he broke his neck in a surfing accident.
The program was born during the course of Eddie’s own recovery. The program empowers people with various disabilities to succeed in the world. We integrate drums and percussion instruments as creative learning tools that address life skills and enhance the mind, body and spirit. We are currently in 20 States in the US as well as in several other countries.
Eddie is an veteran rock and roller with credits ranging from The Beach Boys, Rick Nelson and Dr. John, to Marianne Faithfull and Dwight Yoakam. Eddie has strong ties to Canada having recorded with The Five Man Electrical Band and Chilliwack. Living in Canada, Eddie performed with The Downchild Blues Band, Rocky Rolletti and The Lincolns.
Long & McQuade and Pearl Canada are proud to support Eddie’s work and are presenting a free workshop to introduce this program to facilitators and program coordinators. This workshop is open to anyone interested in learning more about this wonderful program.
If you are one of the following, you may particularly be interested in this…
1) Percussionists interested in learning how to use this program and who may be interested in working as a facilitator within this field
2) Program coordinators that see this as something that would work well implemented in your facilities
3) Music therapists or students that would like to be introduced to something new
4) Special education, as well as mainstream teachers, and also parents that might be interested in learning more about this program
The Rhythmic Arts Project empowers people with various disabilities to
succeed in the world. We integrate drums and percussion instruments as
creative learning tools that address life skills and enhance the mind, body
& spirit.
http://www.traponline.com
Email: Etuduri@verizon.net
TMA and TMA Building Corp AGM’s May 25 11-12:30
Annual General Meeting (TMA and TMA Building Corp)
NOTE CHANGE IN LOCATION FROM PRINTED CRESCENDO
Friday May 25, 2018
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
TMA Office Building, A1 Auditorium, First Floor
15 Gervais Dr, Toronto, ON
Ample parking at location, payment required at machine
TTC: 25 and 185 buses (Pape Station) or 34 Eglinton East Bus (Eglinton Station)
Lunch & $20 per member for parking or other expenses will be provided
TMA and TMA Building Corp General Meetings – Friday May 31, 2019 – 11:00 AM – TMA Office Auditorium – 15 Gervais Dr
TMA General Meeting
Lunch provided and $20 per member (to offset parking or other expenses)
Agenda
Friday February 22, 2019 – 11:00 AM
TMA Office Auditorium – 15 Gervais Dr
TMA General Meeting & TMA Building Corporation Special Meeting – December 14, 2018 – Northern District Library
TMA Lifetime Achievement Award
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
TMA Musician of the Year Award 2009
ANDREW BURASHKO – A member of the TMA since 1990
His musical dexterity and commitment to building a future audience for classical music brought him in 1998 to the artistic directorship of the Art of Time Ensemble, a chamber music society comprised of the finest classical and jazz players on the Canadian scene. Andrew Burashko began his piano studies with Marina Geringas in Toronto. He went on to study with Kum Sing Lee in Vancouver, Leon Fleisher and Marek Jablonski in Toronto, and Sella Davidovich in New York. He is at present on the faculty of the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Performance Diploma and Artist Diploma (RCM). Studied with Bella Davidovich in New York, with Marek Jablonski, Leon Fleisher and Marina Geringas at The RCM, Toronto and with Kum Sing Lee in Vancouver. Awarded numerous grants from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Has given master classes throughout Canada and the United States. Soloist with orchestras including the Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg Symphonies, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Sought after as a recitalist and chamber musician, with performances throughout North America and Europe. Artistic Director of Chamber Music Unlimited. Recorded for Naxos, CBC SM5000, and Opening Day Labels. Regularly broadcast on CBC Radio and American Public Radio. RCM faculty since 1990.
In recognition of the outstanding artistic excellence during the year 2009 and his universally acclaimed stature as one of Canada’s most highly regarded classical pianists, the Toronto Musicians’ Association presents the 2009 Musician of the Year Award to Andrew Burashko.
TMA Participates in Live Performing Arts Anti-harassment Roundtable
Canadian Live Performing Arts Representatives Anti-harassment Roundtable
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
Jan 17, 2018, 20:22 ET
Federal Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly opened today’s meeting, thanking the performing arts community for its work on anti-harassment issues and for being a leader in cultural change.
Meeting participants agreed to the following public statement.
We commit to a performing arts industry that is safe and respectful. We recognize that increasing equity for marginalized and disenfranchised communities within the sector is an essential part of the solution.
We established working groups today to:
The live performance sector is committed to finding ways to work collectively and with purpose to find solutions. Communication with those who work in and with our sector is essential. We will provide updates on our activities as they become available.
Organizations in attendance at today’s meeting include:
Arts Club Theatre
IATSE
Associated Designers of Canada
IATSE 58
L’Association des théâtres francophones du Canada
National Ballet of Canada
Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (Equity)
Playwrights Guild of Canada
Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists
Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT)
Canadian Arts Presenting Association/ l’Association canadienne des organismes artistiques
Shaw Festival
Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals
Tapestry Opera
Canadian Dance Assembly
The AFC
Canadian Federation of Musicians
Theatre Ontario
CITT/ICTS
Toronto Musicians’ Association
Dancer Transition Resource Centre
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
— We encourage other organizations to sign on to this sectoral initiative.—
SOURCE Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
Related Links
http://www.caea.com
Organization Profile
Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
TMA Stands with CFM, AFM and the PAVTF in Opposing P2 Increases
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed making it much more costly to apply to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) for the required visas for international guest artists. Its plans to increase most of its filing fees, including those for O and P artist visas applications.
TMA stands together with the Federation and the Performing Arts Visa Task Force in opposition to those changes.
To read the full text of the PAVTF opposition please click here (PDF).
TMA Thanks Minister for Increase to Ontario Arts Council Budget
TMA Welcomes New Executive Director Michael Adam Murray
The Toronto Musicians Association (TMA), local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians of United States and Canada, representing professional musicians in Toronto for over 100 years, is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Adam Murray as our new Executive Director, effective August 24th, 2015.
Michael comes to the TMA from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), where he has held the role of Music and Arts Service Organizations Officer since 2007. His skills and experience are broad, yet his focus has been on the music and larger arts community in Ontario and the Toronto area. As a musician (trumpet, electronics and voice), songwriter and as a professional with CPA, CMA and MBA designations, Michael’s combination of skills led to exceptional development work with OAC. He is an exciting leader, well poised to lead the TMA into the next 100 years of development.
As the Music industry continues to go through seismic changes across all sectors, it is vital that we continue to grow and change to ensure that the TMA is part of the conversation in the larger music and arts community and that we continue to provide services that ensure fair compensation and quality of life for all musicians.
“As a songwriter, trumpet player and vocalist myself, I understand firsthand the immense rewards and challenges in pursuing a career as a professional musician. When fairness for artists is achieved, all stakeholders in the cultural industries benefit, from artists, to audiences, to communities to companies. It is my vision that the TMA is a leader in making the Greater Toronto Area the best region nationally and internationally for musicians to live and work and by doing so help the GTA protect and grow it’s reputation as one of the world’s major music and art centres.”