A Podcast Conversation With ... Pat Silver
A veteran booking agent, business manager, and community activist, Pat Silver is the founder of SING!, an internationally-acclaimed a cappella festival. Learn more about this dynamo and the festival in this FYI podcast.
By Bill King
When addressing the many skills and achievements of the multi-talented and accomplished Pat Silver one starts with the political circumstances facing most young Americans of the late ‘60s and the challenges at home. Activism, a badge of honour, a distasteful violent war in Vietnam, all-encompassing. There was no clear path to a career without navigating the political corruption and the holistic changes about to right the next chapter in American history - Women’s Rights, Gay Rights, Abortion, Human Rights – the follow-up to Civil Rights and President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty.
Silver crossed the border into Canada in 1971 and began what would prove to become an illustrious career of activism and social/community engagement. A member of the Women Entrepreneurs of Canada, Co-Founder, EAST Alternative Middle School, Co-Chair, Friends of Black Creek Pioneer Village, Press Officer and Executive Board Member, Toronto Musician’s Association of A.F.M., Chair and Co-Founder, Danforth Mosaic Business Improvement Area, President, Infertility Network, Director of International Affairs, International Special Events Society, Toronto. And currently co-director/founder of Sing! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival.
Much of Silver’s personal life has been centred on volunteerism, how to right a wrong, how to improve the lives of others, yet the professional world knows her as a skilled negotiator, workaholic, tenacious and amicable. A licenced booking agent of 35 years and former business manager – there’s a story to be told. This is where we begin today in this week’s FYIMUSICNEWS.CA podcast.
More on SING!
SING! is an incubator for talent, a force multiplier for groups, and an innovator in the a cappella festival world.
We provide stages for emerging artists to be seen worldwide through our live streaming and recordings. Many of them go on to record and tour internationally. We produce shows that involve many artists in collaborations in specific genres.
Festivals and Events Ontario has recognized SING! with a 2022 Achievement Award. That’s 8 straight years of top provincial awards!
SING! is gearing up for another incredible season. From May 25 through June 5, we present breathtaking concerts and inspiring workshops with artists from around the world. The full announcement is coming soon, but you can have a peek at some of the programs at singtoronto.com
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