The East Vancouver Community Music School was founded with a mandate of nurturing our musical community, building connections between music students and neighbours, of supporting music teachers, composers, performers, and the web of connections that makes up the musical ecosystem of Vancouver. Every year since 2015 the non-profit school has hosted a “Celebrate Canada Music Festival” as part of Canada Music Week, and this year is their 10th anniversary!
2023 Participants
Each year the school offers some form of composition workshop, seminar, or masterclass, a student recital of Canadian music hosted by a Canadian composer who introduces each piece on the program, and finishes with a professional concert by a guest musician. This year, Rodney Sharman is the composer in residence. He will offer a composition workshop at the beginning of the day’s festivities and then act as MC for the student recital, guiding the audience through the landscape of Canadian compositions, allowing the audience to learn a little bit about each composer featured. Local pianist-legend Rachel Iwaasa will be this year’s guest performer and her performance will be the grand finale of the festival. All activities are free and open to the public though donations are greatly appreciated.
Composer Mentor Rodney Sharman
Previous festivals have been hosted by incredible local composers and the EVCMS would like to extend a huge thank-you to all of the composers and musicians who have helped this festival grow and continue over the years: Dr. Robert Pritchard, Jocelyn Morlock, Jordan Nobles, Michael Park, Alan Matheson, Ian Hampton, John Oliver, Dr. Jennifer Butler, Stefan Hintersteininger, Kirsten Ewart and Katerina Gimon; as well as the incredible guest performers: Rebecca Wenham, Clara Shandler, Maggie Hasspacher, Saxophilia Quartet, Elysian Trio, Josh Zubot, Franios Houle, Peggy Lee, Ethos Collective, Irene Senent-Alonso, Roisin Adams, and the Black Dog String Quartet.
The EVCMS is dedicated to providing high-quality musical instruction that is accessible and inclusive to everyone. Their bursary programs supplement the cost of lessons for students from low-income households and their group music classes offer something for all ages (from toddlers to adults). In addition to hosting the Celebrate Canada Music Festival every autumn, they also host “Equal Measure Festival” each spring to celebrate music written by historically-excluded composers (women, BIPOC, LGTBQ+ composers). The school offers music lessons in a variety of locations including their new home near 41st and Victoria Drive.
More information about the EVCMS can be found on their website (www.evcms.ca) and they can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and you can watch videos of their previous festivals on Youtube.
