Festival: Xenakis

celebrating the life and work of composer, architect and visionary Iannis Xenakis

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Classical Music Industry: Come to Whitehorse for BreakOut West Western Canadian Music Awards

October 20 to 23, 2011

Members of the classical music industry in all of its forms are invited to attend BreakOut West, Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMAs) for two purposes:

1. Firstly, to discuss the creation of new annual national awards in classical music. Get in on the ground floor of these discussions and attend the WCMAs in Whitehorse.

2. Secondly, to attend the Fifth Annual Classical Music Showcase of the WCMAs featuring performer nominees (TBA) and classical composition nominees Saturday, October 22 and the classical industry brunch Sunday, October 23 (noon) and the Western Canadian Music Awards presentations at the Yukon Arts Centre (evening), and;

1. Creation of New Annual National Awards in Classical Music in Canada

a. Preamble

In working to establish a profile for classical music within the Western Canadian Music Awards and to increase the profile of classical music within the JUNO Awards over the past five years, I have come to notice that there also exist in Canada annual dedicated genre awards that recognize broader areas of achievement than those saluted in the WCMAs or JUNOs.

The dedicated genre awards of which I am currently aware are:

• The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (November annually)
• The Canadian Country Music Awards
• The Canadian Folk Music Awards (November annually)
• The Canadian Urban Music Awards (also known as Urban X-Posure)
• The Maple Blues Awards (January annually)
• The National Jazz Awards (last presented in 2009)

In reflecting on this situation over a considerable period of time, a recurring thought has remained in mind — Establish annual dedicated genre awards in classical music. In testing the idea over a six-month period, it seems to have resonance among the couple of dozen or so people with whom I have tested it. In particular, three individuals have expressed strong support for the idea: Andrew Kwan, Director, Andrew Kwan Artists Management Inc.; Ian Menzies, National Music Centre; and, Elisabeth Bihl, Executive Director, Canadian Music Centre. This is the core group for the moment.

b. Action Plan

I suggest that individuals working in the classical music industry convene initially in marvellous Whitehorse for the WCMAs then in Toronto for CAPACOA to discuss the creation of new annual national classical music awards in the following schedule:

Whitehorse (Western Canadian Music Awards/BreakOut West, October 20 – 23, 2011)

• Thursday, October 20: Arrival, Opening Reception, Evening.
• Friday, October 21: Full day discussion on creating annual classical music awards in Canada (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Whitehorse Whitemark Hotel).
• Saturday, October 22: Trip to Kluane National Park/daytime; WCMA Classical Music Showcase, 8:00 p.m.
• Sunday, October 23: Classical Brunch, Noon; WCMA Awards presentations, Evening.
• Monday, October 24: Depart.

CAPACOA (November 6, 2011)

Erin Benjamin, Executive Director, CAPACOA, has invited us to convene a discussion with the classical music conclave within CAPACOA at its annual conference, this year in Toronto, November 4 to 7, 2011 at the King Edward Hotel.

c. Funding

I met Pierre Lalonde of Heritage Canada at the JUNOs and got talking to him about this idea. He suggested the following potential funding sources:

• FACTOR Phil Gumbley
• ATMA Records
• Toronto classical radio
• Montreal classical radio x 2
• Ottawa Gatineau classical station
• Radio Canada
• Galaxie
• SOCAN/Foundation

d. Issues/Ideas

There are many issues, ideas, thoughts, awards categories, voting procedures, and influences to consider and for sake of brevity, I have not listed them here as yet and invite you to do so.

2. Fifth Annual Classical Music Showcase, WCMAs, BreakOut West

The CMC has been working to build up the classical component of the Western Canadian Music Awards over the past ten years, and this year will be the fifth one in which it has produced a classical music showcase featuring nominees in the two classical music categories: Classical Recording of the Year and Classical Composition of the Year. Individuals from the pop music industry attend BreakOut West annually and a next logical step would be to get the classical music industry to attend.

3. Conclusion

If you would like to get in on the ground floor of these discussions, I urge you to come to Whitehorse, which, as I have recently discovered, is an amazing place! To reserve your place, please contact me, John C. Reid, Prairie Regional Director, Canadian Music Centre, (403) 220-7403, jcreid@ucalgary.ca.

Thanks and see you in either Whitehorse for BreakOut West or Toronto for CAPACOA.

For further information, please visit: breakoutwest.ca