Musician Of The Month
April: Yo Yo Ma
American Cellist born in Paris to Chinese parents
Studied at Julliard and Harvard
Performs as a soloist and with orchestras around the world
Performs classical as well as folk music and other creative works
February/March: William Eddins
Classical pianist and orchestral conductor
Conducts orchestras around the world
Was the conductor for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra until 2017
Has released classical piano albums on his own record label
January: K'naan
Somali-Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist
Is most famous for his song "Waving Flag," which was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Grew up in Toronto, Ontario
His grandfather was a famous poet in Somalia.
October: Nadia Boulanger
French composer and teacher
Played the organ
Won the second place for the famous "Prix de Rome."
Decided to change her focus from composing to teaching
Taught many of the most famous composers of the 20th Century
September: Leela Gilday
Dene singer born and raised in the North West Territories
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Has performed in every province in Canada and overseas in places like Australia and New Zealand
Received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Alberta
Taught many of the most famous composers of the 20th Century
Won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year at the 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2021
2020 - 2021 School Year
February: Garth Prince
Canadian performer, singer, and songwriter
Original from the country of Namibia
Performs for schools and children
Recently released a children's book with an album of music
https://garthprince.com/about.html
January: Nick Nurse
Born July 24, 1967
American professional basketball coach.
Plays the piano and loves jazz.
Uses the philosophy of jazz music and applies it to coaching basketball.
Below, one of Nick Nurse's favourite songs.
November/December Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
May 07, 1840 - November 06, 1893
Russian composer grew up in St. Petersburg.
Parents wanted him to be a lawyer.
Famous for composing the Nutcracker suite.
https://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composer_profile.php?id=75
October: Robbie Robertson
Grew up in Toronto and is of Mohawk, Cayuga and Jewish heritage.
Learned guitar from his uncles on the Six Nations Reserve.
Started out writing songs and playing in Ronnie Hawkin's band The Hawks.
Started "The Band" and wrote many famous songs.
Along with his band he backed up Bob Dylan on his famous tour when he started to use electric instruments.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony starts off chaotic and dark but buts ends triumphant and bright.
September: Beethoven
German composer from the Classical period of western classical music.
Went deaf later in life and still continued to compose music.
Had a difficult personal life but still believed in hope and that things can get better no matter how tough they get.
His famous 5th symphony is very famous and widely known.
2019 - 2020 School Year
June: Lionel Loueke
Started guitar at age 17.
Discovered jazz in Benin.
Studied jazz at many places including the National Institute of Art in Ivory Coast, the American School of Modern Music in parks and the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Has crafted a refined jazz style based on his extensive knowledge of African music.
May: Allison Au
Grew up in Toronto, Ontario.
Born to a Chinese father and Jewish Mother.
Jazz composer, bandleader, and recording artist.
Began playing the saxophone in junior high band.
Decided to play jazz because of the musical freedom it offers.
Won numerous awards including a Juno. The Junos are Canada's most important music awards.
April: Kennedy Coates
A ten year old student from Toronto, Ontario.
She is using her extra time to create a new musical.
40 Below 0 - Painted by Joni Mitchell
March: Joni Mitchell
Born on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta and grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Singer song-writer who started out in the 60's.
Wrote and recorded many famous songs including "Both Sides Now" and "Big Yellow Taxi."
Is also a noted artist and painter - here is one of her paintings "40 Below 0" showing a highway near North Battleford Saskatchewan.
Her song "Circle Game" is available as an excellent picture book for kids.
February: Wynton Marsalis
American trumpeter, composer, and band leader.
Promotes jazz and classical music, often to young people.
Comes from a famous musical family including father Ellis Marsalis and brother Branford Marsalis.
The only musician to win a grammy for both classical and jazz music in the same year.
January: Koji Kondo
A Japanese composer, pianist and and sound director for the video game company Nintendo.
Noted for his music written for the Mario and Zelda video games.
Wrote the "Overworld Theme" - also known as "Mario Theme" which is likely the most famous video game song ever written.
He was inspired to write music for video games because of his love for Donkey Kong and Space Invaders - He then learned how to program sounds using a computer language called "Basic."
December: Duke Ellington
An American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spanning more than six decades.
Was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999.
Wrote , “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.”
Famous for adapting Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite into a jazz version.
November: Woody Guthrie & Arlo Guthrie
Woody Guthrie was a folk singer and activist in the 1940's and 1950's. We wrote many famous songs including "This Land Is Your Land," and the lyrics to "My Peace" which his son Arlo wrote the music to later on after Woody Guthrie's death in 1967. He worked alongside Pete Seeger to further the cause of social justice and peace. Woody Guthrie influenced many famous folk and rock musicians such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Arlo Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's son. He is an American singer-songwriter and, like his father, he is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice and storytelling while performing songs. He wrote the melody to “My Peace”.
October: Wille Dunn
Willie Dunn’s mother was Micmac and his father was Scottish. He explored the musical traditions of both cultures. He was inspired by the folk music scene of the late 1950s. He later turned his focus to Canada's Indigenous People and wrote songs about their lives and history.
September: J.S. Bach
Fun Facts about Bach:
Born 21st March 1685 in Eisenach, Germany.
He had 20 children.
He wrote over 1000 pieces of music.
He was the greatest composer of Baroque music.
He was thrown into prison by his boss (the Duke in Wiemer) for accepting another job with better pay!