Music News Digest, Oct. 11, 2019
Choir! Choir! Choir! ( pictured) to perform at the US-Mexico border on Sunday, a CIMA showcase at Folk Alliance 2020, and a Tribute to Gord Downie in Burlington. Also in the news are Music Nova Scotia, TSO, FACTOR, 2020 Music PEI Awards, CCMA Song Camp, Ontario Creates, Music BC, and farewell John McGuirk, Stephen Swid, and Molly Duncan.
By Kerry Doole
The Toronto choral cover group Choir! Choir! Choir! plans to stage a concert at the United States-Mexico border on Sunday. A post on ticketing site Eventbrite says singers of all levels can participate in the show, which will take place in two locations at the same time — at Border Field State Park in San Diego, Calif., and in the nearby Mexican border town of Tijuana. Source: CP
– CIMA will be sponsoring a select number of artists in the MusicOntario showcasing room at Folk Alliance 2020 in New Orleans, from Jan. 22-26 at The Sheraton in 2020. Showcase submissions are now open here, with a Nov. 15 deadline.
– The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has announced a $10-million donation from the estate of Tom and Mary Beck, the largest single donation in the TSO’s history. Founders of a lighting company, Noma, the couple frequently attended the symphony – often with their children – and Tom Beck sat on the board for 22 years, some of that as chair. Over their lifetime, the Becks had donated more than $20-million to the TSO. Source: The Globe and Mail
– Voting for the 2019 Music Nova Scotia Entertainer of the Year Award is open until Oct. 25. The nominees are Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers, AQUASOCKS (Aquakultre & Ghettosocks), Erin Costelo, Jenn Grant, T. Thomason, and Willie Stratton. The award is to be presented by the Downtown Truro Partnership. Vote here
– The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC), in collaboration with The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF), presents Legacy: A Tribute to Gord Downie on Oct. 17. This second annual event celebrates the man, the music and his legacy and includes performances by Twin Flames, DALA, Royal Wood, Peter Katz, Kevin Fox, and Adrian Sutherland (of Midnight Shine) and more. Funds raised will go directly to the DWF, and the designation of the Downie/Wenjack Fund Legacy Space at the BPAC - the first performing arts centre in Canada to do so. Tix here
– A reminder that the deadline for two FACTOR programs, Artist Development and Juried Sound Recording, is Oct. 17. Apply here
– Submissions are open for the 2020 Music PEI Awards, handed out during Credit Union Music PEI Week from Feb. 5-9. A complete guideline to the awards, submission process, eligibility criteria and other details here. Apply Here by the Oct. 27 deadline.
– The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced the second CCMA Song Camp, in partnership with SOCAN. The invitational camp, to be held Jan. 19-24, will host 16 established songwriters and producers for one week in Muskoka, Ontario. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 15. Click here to Submit
– Hamilton modern rock band Ellevator has started a North American tour supporting Banners that includes an Oct. 12 show at Vancouver's Venue. The group has just shared its cover of a Kate Bush classic, Running Up That Hill.
– The Ontario Creates Film Fund, Development Stream is offering a joint initiative with Telefilm Canada, where producers who receive support via the Telefilm Canada Feature Film Development Program can access a top-up from Ontario Creates. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis between Oct. 15, 2019 and Jan. 31, 2020. More info here
– Music BC has announced a How-To Panel featuring indigenous Australian hip-hop artist Neil Morris and Vancouver poet laureate Christie Lee Charles. Titled Songs Of The Land, the free session, on Oct. 23 at the World Art Centre in Vancouver, will look at ways to offer opportunities to build relationships of solidarity and understanding across oceans and continents. RSVP here
RIP
John McGuirk, artistic director of the All Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope, Ontario, died on Oct. 4, at age 70.
McGuirk was also a music teacher at Hillfield Strathallan College, Hamilton. Source: Ross Funeral Chapel
Stephen Swid, the music licensing innovator, died Oct. 6, age 78, of complications of frontotemporal degeneration.
After acquiring a series of businesses, including the “21” Club, he turned the obscure licensing organization Sesac into a force in the music industry.
In 1992, Swid led an ambitious deal to acquire Sesac for $15 million and ended up turning it into a billion-dollar business that has had lasting effects on the music industry. Source: New York Times
Malcolm "Molly" Duncan, a tenor saxophonist and founding member of the Average White Band, died on October 8, aged 74, after being diagnosed with cancer.
The Scottish soul and funk band, formed in 1972, gained worldwide success, including a number one album in the US. Duncan and his bandmate Roger Ball were known as the Dundee Horns.
The group paid tribute to Duncan on their Facebook page, saying he would be "sorely missed ... His was the world-famous sax solo on Pick Up The Pieces, but apart from that he was one of the funniest and most charming people you could ever meet." Source: The Guardian
