By Nicole Findlay
Composer, musician and recent graduate Adam Saikaley is calling the tune quite literally. Saikaley, BMus/08, successfully beat out applicants from across Canada for a coveted and rare spot on CBC Radio Two. As an associate producer for Canada Live, Saikaley is able to feed his passion for eclectic music which runs the spectrum from Gregorian chants to Japanese noise experiments.
“I believe I was awarded this position because of my broad background and knowledge of music, along with my experience being a musician myself,” said Saikaley. “Being educated in music has given me the ability to listen very attentively and to be able to pick out what would come across well on radio and what wouldn’t.”
To program the series, Saikaley tracks upcoming Ottawa concerts and events, books recordings, edits and packages each episode.
His also attributes his recent success to the atypical and broad education he received through the School for Art and Culture’s music program. His studies exposed him to music from around the world and numerous genres. Theory was supplemented by practice. A second year enthnomusicology course led him to join a gamelan ensemble. However, he is equally comfortable turntabling or composing on the piano – activities he has pursued since childhood.
“I got the idea to make up things on the piano because as a child I was obsessed with LEGO and I think I figured out that playing music was kind of like playing with LEGO, but with sound.”