Presenting the new Board of Directors 2014–16
Outgoing President’s Report / Season 2013–14, Tim Brady
Message from the New President, Kyle Brenders
Reports from the CNMN Committees
Public Engagement Committee Report – Dec 2014
Digital Content Initiative (DCI) Report – Dec 2014
New Music Initiative 2015 – Steering Committee Report – Dec 2014
FORUM 2016 OTTAWA – Steering Committee Report – Dec 2014
The Language Committee Report – Dec 2014
Arts Day on The Hill 2014
NASO Meetings 2014
Welcome New Members – December 2014
Membership Dues 2014–15
Member’s Corner
Opportunities with New Music Edmonton
ECM+ Generation2016 Competition Launch
ECM+ has a new publication: Generation, 20 ans
Those who attended our 2014 AGM would have heard, but we wanted everyone to have a chance to hear the great news!
The membership voted Kyle Brenders as the new president of CNMN. And subsequently, the board voted for the rest of the executive: Jim Montgomery as secretary, Stacey Brown as treasurer, and Louise Campbell as vice-president.
This will be my last president’s report, as most of you are aware. 2013 – 2014 was a hugely successful year for CNMN, so it is with great pleasure that I present you the “highlights” of what was our most active and dynamic season. “Go out with a bang” as they say!
The year started very quickly with an unplanned but exciting collaboration with the Montréal-based CINARS (International Exchange for the Performing Arts) and the UK-based IAMA (International Arts Managers’ Association). In late August, at the very last minute, they asked CNMN to organise a whole series of Canadian new music concerts as part of the IAMA conference to be held in Montreal in November. Amazingly, we organised an open call to members (with 53 applications!), juried the submissions, and got the whole project organised in 12 days. It was, frankly, an insane effort, and much of the credit for its successful production goes to our administrative director, Emily Hall. The event included many showcases and performances, as well as a workshop on new music, and they were greatly appreciated by IAMA, CINARS, and all delegates, especially the international participants. Many of them came up to me during the event and said they had no idea there was so much new music in Canada, and that it was of such high quality.
This project was funded by a special project grant from the Canada Council, who greatly appreciated the efforts and efficiency of CNMN.
This collaboration was so successful that CNMN and IAMA are teaming up on another, smaller, project this November in Montreal. This new collaboration is at the request of IAMA, who will be paying almost all the costs!
While this IAMA project was going on, we were also planning for the FORUM, which was held in Calgary in January, 2014. Funding for this event was very strong, as we were able to get a new funding stream from FACTOR as well as through the University of Calgary. The U of C was able to add significant cash and in-kind funding to our budget, through both internal grants and a special, targeted SSHRC grant. The budget for the FORUM was around $84,000 – a huge increase over past FORUMs, which tended to hover around $35,000.
With this extra funding we were able to bring in five very high-profile guests, who added a critical dimension to the project. The special guests were: Lawrence Cherney (Soundstreams Canada), Andrew Bruke (London Sinfoniettta – UK), Patricia Rosner (Berlin Philharmonic Media), Melissa Smey (Millet Theatre, NYC) and Nicolas Thiron (Festival Whynote – France).
Our increased budget meant that we were also able to help cover the travel costs of many more delegates, which gave us our biggest attendance ever at a FORUM – over 150 participants. Our foreign guests were quite impressed with the size and scope of the new music community in Canada, and with the quality of both the FORUM’s production and its larger vision of creative music.
The sense of excitement and energy was palpable at the event – the FORUM had a perfect balance of round table discussions, open networking events, and focused workshops and presentations. The Rosza Centre at U of C was the ideal place for the event, with a great concert hall, and several meetings rooms, all in the same building, literally 30 seconds from the hotel. Even the weather cooperated – from Thursday to Saturday, it was so warm we did not even really need to wear coats! On Sunday, winter returned, so it was clearly time to go.
After the FORUM, CNMN started working on six main tasks: Succession planning for the change of President, planning for the New Music Initiative 2015 with CAPACOA, January 2015 in Halifax, updating the CNMN bylaws, continued work for the Digital Content Initiative, pre-planning FORUM 2016, and day-to-day matters.
Here’s a brief overview of these 6 tasks:
After discussions with several CNMN board members, Kyle Brenders, an ON representative, agreed to take on the Presidency of CNMN starting at the end of AGM 2014, following a vote of the members. I (Tim Brady) will stay on the board, to help ensure continuity and corporate memory.
CAPACOA (the largest network of presenters in Canada) has asked CNMN to be a special partner at their January 2015 conference in Halifax, creating a main focus on New Music. We’ve called this the New Music Initiative 2015. This is an amazing opportunity to expand our contacts to over 250 main-stage presenters across Canada. This is a big step forward for the community.
Changes in federal not-for-profit legislation meant that we had to update and submit our bylaws to Industry Canada. Most of the changes are simple, technical details, but we took the opportunity to expand the CNMN board from 12 to 15 members, to add another seat for BC, and to add 2 “non-regional” board members. This new board structure will take effect in the 2016 election.
CNMN received a $20,000 “Leadership for Change” grant from the Canada Council to pursue our Digital Content Initiative.
The next FORUM (Ottawa, January 2016) planning is gradually underway. Discussions with local partners have begun (the National Arts Centre, the Ottawa New Music Creators, Ottawa University and Carleton University). CNMN has proven that it is an effective and efficient FORUM organiser, and FORUM 2016 will build on the success and vision of the six previous editions.
There are also the day-to-day matters for CNMN – selling memberships, doing the thrice-yearly Bulletin, writing grants, doing the bookkeeping, etc. For a very small and still relatively young organisation, CNMN manages to do all this with great efficiency. Or perhaps it is because we are young and small that we are so efficient…..
Two final thoughts, as I bring this President’s report to a close.
The first is the enormous pleasure I have had in working with the CNMN board, its members, and our administrator, Emily Hall, over the past 9 years building CNMN. The intelligence, commitment, passion and imagination in our community is quite impressive and I think that CNMN has proven to be an excellent way for us to work together to build a better place for creative music in Canada. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of creating the CNMN we have today.
The second thought is more philosophical. Over the past 9 years (in fact, 11 years, counting the 2 years of pre-CNMN discussion), I have spent many hours thinking about musical creativity, trying to define it to ourselves, trying to defend it to funders and to the public, trying to articulate why we believe that unfettered musical creativity is so vital to our society. There is no single, simple answer. However, at its core, creating music for the love of the art of music is a striking social and political action. Creating music that tries to encompass the scope and complexity of the human condition is a big job, but that is what we have chosen to do. It is inherently humanist in approach, and is predicated on a society where the value of each individual is recognised. Art, including new music, is primarily about the human experience, not about the economic benefit or political power.
This is why creative art is often viewed as a menace to existing economic and political structures. We live in a society which has, for the moment, a reasonable balance between the two forces – the humanist vision and the economic / political vision. That balance, however, is constantly shifting.
I urge all CNMN members to remember, every time you write a new piece, or step on a stage to do a concert, or talk about the importance of music in our society, that you are part of the ongoing political and social discourse that is shaping the world we live in. New music has a role to play in this larger discussion, and it is important that we, as a community, take this role seriously. I believe that CNMN is ideally placed to be a leading voice in this discussion. I hope that my 9 years as President has helped to build both a strong, credible organisation and to make the case for musical creativity as a positive force for social development.
This is my first message going out to all of you as the new president of the network and I want to present you with some thoughts I’ve had about the future of CNMN.
My hope for the next few years is to continue to grow and develop our organization on the path that Tim Brady has set us on. Let me pause and stress part of that last line. I really want to focus that this is the OUR organization. We are a network. The success of the growth and development of our network only exists if we actively try to connect with one another. The organization is designed to provide formal spaces to meet and connect – such as our FORUM in 2016 and our inclusion as part of this year’s CAPACOA conference. However, where I think we can begin to become stronger is by creating informal spaces that allow us to come together. Take a look at the new list of board members in your region. Send them an email. Have a coffee. Get together and share what your current successes and struggles are. The network is only as strong as its members and I hope, if anything, to strengthen these connections. We all have similar accomplishments and daily grinds. We can all learn from one another if we share in a spirit of openness and collegiality. Most importantly send me an email, ask if I’ll be around your part of the country, or just let me know how it’s going and how the organization can serve you better. Hopefully I can get a chance to meet and talk with you about the future of our organization.
What are committees and who is on them? Since 2009, various committees have formed, sometimes on a casual basis, sometimes on a more continuous basis. They exist to focus-in on particular issues – around areas of concern for the new music community at large (such as the Public Engagement Committee and the Digital Content Initiative) or CNMN in particular (such as the Language Facilitation Committee). Or, they can be based around a particular upcoming activity (such as the FORUM 2016 Steering Committee and the NMI 2015 committees). Anyone can be on a committee, but one representative from the Board of Directors (see our web site) is required. Members can propose other committees to a member of the board.
The CNMN Public Engagement Committee was formed in the 2012–13 season. Having evolved out of the Youth Committee (2009–12), the Public Engagement Committee seeks to address the range and scope of issues regarding Public Engagement and New Music across Canada. We all do Public Engagement — so, what are we already doing? Who do we understand as our public? What are our success stories in Public Engagement? How can we as a community reach more, different, diverse publics?
Committee members include Tawnie Olson, Jennifer Waring and Louise Campbell (committee chair).
We welcome more committee members! We need people from across the country to pitch in, give their two cents worth, and give us a Canada-wide perspective. If you want to join the Public Engagement Committee, we want your ideas!
CNMN began working on the Digital Content Initiative (DCI) roughly two years ago. Put simply, concert music (art music, or whatever definition you prefer) needs something to fill the huge gap left in our community by the disengagement of CBC and Radio-Canada.
The idea is to create a new fund, with a mixture of public and private funding, that will give artists and artistic companies the funds necessary to create very high-quality audio and video digital content, and to create and promote a professional digital hub for distribution (this could be CDs, DVDs, live streaming, video for YouTube, Internet art, etc.).
The following work was carried out in the 2013–14 season:
October 2013: We met with Sophie Couture, Head of Music Policy at Heritage Canada. In April 2015, the $25 million Canada Music Fund will be renewed by Canadian Heritage. Discussions are already underway as to how this money will be allocated – what are the priorities, what will be the new programmes. Canadian Heritage has told us that almost all the real decisions will be made by November 2014, in order to be ready for the April 2015 rollout. So we need to make a very strong proposal to Canadian Heritage before November 2014.
December 2013: Applied for Leadership through Change funding through Canada Council. Received $20,000.
December 2013: DCI national meeting in Toronto – working group with CMC, empreintes DIGITALes, Le Vivier, Action Jazz Canada, and consultations with Soundstreams and Tafelmusik.
Slight name change: The Digital Content Initiative was formerly called the Canadian Specialised Music Dissemination and Digital Content Initiative (CSMDDCI) but we thought it best to simplify the name.
June 2014: We hired consultant Pierre Lalonde. This is a big, complex, very political process and M. Lalonde formerly worked at Heritage Canada, running the music policy division – so he knows how things work.
June 2014: Further DCI meetings in Toronto with consultant Pierre Lalonde.
Working on finalizing a strong proposal for fall 2014. We will ask for a scalable budget starting at $2.5 million and progressing to $7.5 million in 4 years.
Working with Michel Duschesneau, head of OICRM, to create a comprehensive document showing the overwhelming evidence that supports the need for a true musical diversity in the Canadian music industry and in our education system.
This project is very ambitious, but the budget shows we take the project seriously, that the loss of the CBC/SRC is having a hugely negative impact on music in Canada.
Please contact Tim Brady for more information: tim@timbrady.ca
A portion of the 2015 CAPACOA conference in Halifax has been designed with CNMN and its members in mind. We contacted the organizers of the conference a while ago and stressed that the general presenting culture of Canada that attends the conference tends to steer away from New Music and that we feel we can do something about this. At the conference we will be presenting a showcase of new music performers from across the country, a national panel of new music presenters discussing innovation in presentation, and a critical response performance by Gabriel Dharmoo, where his work will be presented and then discussed by the audience. It’s truly an exciting opportunity for CNMN to connect to the larger presenting community in a significant way. For all of our members, there is a CNMN conference rate. We hope that if it’s possible, you’re able to attend. Please let us know if you can make it so we can connect at the conference. It’s time to begin to shift the perspective of presenting New Music in Canada.
P.S. Also, perhaps of interest to some of you: CAPACOA is running Pitch Sessions for those looking to promote tour-ready work. More information on how to participate: http://www.capacoa.ca/en/conference/about/pitch-sessions
A committee has been formed and a city has been chosen! FORUM 2016 will take place in Ottawa with support from the National Arts Centre (NAC), University of Ottawa, and Carleton University. We hope to present a dynamic forum that looks at current directions and influences of popular culture on the new music milieu. If you’d like to be involved in the forum please let me know.
Committee members include Stefani Truant, Jesse Stewart, Jennifer Waring and Kyle Brenders (committee chair).
The goal of the Language Committee is to support CNMN in maintaining its commitment to bilingualism, by promoting awareness of language issues, assisting from time to time with minor translation needs and, every two years, fulfilling various kinds of language facilitation roles at our national FORUMS (for examples, see FORUM 2012 and FORUM 2014). Committee members are invited to reflect on ways in which we can facilitate communications in both official languages and continue building a national network that can really “speak” to all our members.
This committee is actively seeking members who might be interested in participating in any of the above discussions and activities. We would also like to begin to build a list of members who are willing to occasionally assist with some volunteer translation towards their mother tongue (English, or French).
Questions? Thinking about getting involved in the Language Committee? We’d love to hear your ideas!
Members: Stacey Brown (chair), Louise Campbell and Jérôme Blais
Please contact Stacey Brown for more information: sb@staceybrown.ca
On October 21 (just one day before the tragic shootings in Ottawa), I represented CNMN at the Canadian Arts Coalition’s annual Day on the Hill. This event brings hundreds of artists and administrators to Ottawa to meet with elected representatives to talk about arts policy, and to underscore the importance of the arts to Canada’s development. This was the seventh Day on the Hill Event, an event which has been mentioned by the members of Parliament as one of the key reasons that Canada Council funding has NOT been cut. We show up, we make the case, and they actually listen.
The goal this year was to start moving away from the “don’t cut us mentality” to the “we really need new investments in the arts” approach. This is done in relation to the upcoming federal elections (2015) and the Canada 150 celebrations (2017).
I was scheduled to meet three members of parliament. Due to some last-minute complications, only one of the meetings happened. I met with NDP member Tyrone Benskin, member for Jeanne-le-Ber in Montréal (who is actually my own MP!). Mr. Benskin was, in fact, a professional actor and artistic director before becoming an MP, so our arguments fell on fertile ground. Mr. Benskin also chairs the non-partisan Arts Caucus on Parliament Hill, and he is important to getting the message out to other members.
At the end of the day, we all gathered for a meet-and-greet cocktail, with many MPs (Elizabeth May, Marc Garneau, Mr. Benskin, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, etc). Current Heritage Minister Glover was not available, but ex-Heritage Minister (and current Industry Minister) James Moore was on hand and did give a nice, very friendly thanks to all for our work.
Though our work was very clearly overshadowed by the regrettable events of the next day, this event has become an important moment for arts policy in Canada, and it is important that CNMN be part of the event.
On October 19 and 20, 2014, I represented the CNMN at the meeting of the National Arts Service Organizations (NASOs) in Ottawa. The meeting was short but incredibly impactful. I had the opportunity to hear Simon Brault, the new Director and CEO of the Canada Council, speak about his vision for the future of the Council. You can read his speech here: http://canadacouncil.ca/council/blog/2014/10/remarks-of-simon-brault
In short, he knows the council is in need of more money and he’s going to try and get it. He’s less interested in consultation than his predecessor and more interested in action. This will hopefully lead to some substantial changes to the Council over the next few years.
I also had the opportunity to meet with the other NASOs in the music discipline along with Aimé Dontigny, Head of the music section. A question was posed to Mr. Dontigny: what can our members do to support the music section? He had three main points that he felt could support the entire music milieu:
Stop being at each other’s throat! This is tongue-in-cheek, but the message is meaningful. All genres/styles of music struggle with funding, outreach, audience engagement, etc. From orchestras to experimental soloists, we all are trying to create a stronger musical culture for our citizens and we should remember we are all in this together.
Habits of Canadians have changed for specialized music: no one creates a golden bridge to connect to a larger audience. How can we make sure that when somebody is looking for music on the Internet their first discovery is Canadian specialized music? And, how can Canadians playing specialized music continue to innovate how they get the music to the citizens?
We have to make public engagement important not by changing our output but through engaging with the larger society that hosts us as artists. What we do needs to be all intrinsically linked to our larger society.
Pretty simple, right?
It was a great couple of days and helped me form a sense of our place in the larger cultural ecology of our country.
There was a lot of research presented to the constituents and you can get it all here:
Since March 2014, CNMN’s membership has grown by 34 members. More members in our network means stronger representation and connection for our community. We warmly welcome all our new members, and we hope this marks the beginning of a long-lasting and fruitful collaboration.
The new members are listed below, many of which have web sites for further information. We also hope all our members get a chance to check each other out – you can access a full list of members on our web site, viewable by category, region or name.
We sent out membership invoices by email in October. Membership dues for the 2014–2015 period are still coming in. Did you receive your invoice? For those who haven’t paid yet, you can settle your dues by cheque through the mail, or by credit card (PayPal) on our web site. It is greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Stephanie Moore, CNMN Administrative Assistant: assist@reseaumusiquesnouvelles.ca
Inviting all composers, improvisers, soloists, ensembles, sound artists and others! New Music Edmonton, Edmonton’s premier organization for the promotion and presentation of new music, launches both a Call For Proposals (deadline Jan 15) and a Call for Works (deadline Dec 10).
This prestigious and ambitious competition has just finished celebrating its 20 year anniversary, with the Generation2014 tour. Now, a new round of talented emerging composers has a chance to participate in Generation2016! Full information and registration guide online here. Application deadline is March 1st, 2015.
ECM+ is pleased to announce the publication of Generation, 20 years (1994–2014). Over 144 pages, the book presents the composers and key collaborators whose contributions have allowed this composition competition, the only one of its kind in Canada, to flourish.
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