Masterclasses

CONNECTED CULTURE
Virtual Music Masterclass Series 2020-2021

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT NO COST

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The Music program at Carleton University is pleased to announce that it is putting its Masterclass series online for the upcoming academic year and opening it to the public for free.

Named CONNECTED CULTURE, it will feature two streams: an ongoing Friday series, covering a range of artistic topics, as well as a new Wednesday series of choral masterclasses, aimed at reaching out to Ottawa’s vibrant choral community.

Both series will be delivered online via Zoom Webinar this coming academic year and will be accessible to anyone wishing to attend. Friday series at 3pm and Wednesday series at 7:30pm unless otherwise noted. Masterclasses will also be recorded for later viewing.

The new choral masterclass series will be curated and hosted by Antonio Llaca, director of choral activities at Carleton. Each installment of the series is designed to keep choral music and choral training relevant during the pandemic, which has forced choirs to go silent since March of this year.

These sessions will shine a spotlight on choral leaders from Canada and around the world, bringing these respected guests to Carleton University’s virtual classroom to share their expertise. The choral series will showcase Canadian experts such as Michael Zaugg, conductor of ProCoro Canada, and Mark Sirett, conductor of the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston, as well as international choral leaders such as laureate Venezuelan conductor Maria Guinand.

“This is an unprecedented time, that has offered us some wonderful opportunities,” says Antonio Llaca. “As choral leaders, we need to shift the focus of our activities and to dedicate more of our resources to development of individual singers. Because we don’t have the pressure of preparing repertoire for performance, we are looking at a year ahead that will put the emphasis on pedagogical activities to grow each member of the choir and build their range of knowledge of skills individually through masterclasses.”

In addition to the series of choral masterclasses there will also be a Friday series of masterclasses, curated and hosted by Carleton Music faculty and featuring New York-based Jazz pianist D.D Jackson, FreePlay from Toronto, and Great Big Soul Project conductor Roxanne Goodman, to name a few.

Carleton University’s Music program is part of the School for Studies in Art and Culture and is planning for a completely online year of musical learning and performance. The two CONNECTED CULTURE masterclass series aim to offer opportunities for Music students and the greater arts community in Ottawa.

“We are very excited to bring this programming to a wider audience. The pandemic has presented musicians with many new challenges, testing our flexibility and resilience, and we want to share our learning with the larger community,” says Kathy Armstrong, Supervisor of Ensembles and Masterclasses.

“I am so impressed with how Carleton Faculty, instructors, and administrators have responded to the challenges of delivering an online music program. We are meeting these challenges with creative out-of-the box approaches, permitting our program to develop in new exciting ways,” says Alexis Luko, Carleton Music’s Assistant Director.

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