PERFORMER CORNER

The News for Performing Arts Students & Staff

Issue #1 – September/October 2018

In this issue
• Meet the
Editors
• Meet the SPA
Chair
• Events at
BlueShore @
Cap
• Cap U Got
Talent Info
• What it's
like to be
1st year AEM
& MUTH
student
• "A" Band
interview
• Call for
Submissions

Brought to you by:

The Arts and
Entertainment
Management
SPA Student
Outreach team
 Meet the Editors
Evelina Diordiev
Hey! I'm Evelina. I'm 17 years
old, born in Europe and raised
in Calgary, AB. I will be one of
the AEM students that
is editing Performer Corner for
you. I am a dancer and have
performed on multiple cruise
ships and am also an actress. If
you see me around feel free to
say hi and chat with me!
Keoni Hui
Hello! my name is Keoni! I’m 18
years old and I'm a first-year
student in the AEM program. I
will be one of the editors for
Performer Corner! I was born and
raised in Vancouver. I play the
piano and drums. I love attending
music festivals and going to small
little cafes. I hope to meet some
of y'all. :)

Our Goal
Our goal for this
newsletter is to connect all
the performing
arts students into one
big family by updating you
on upcoming events that
are happening near us and
around campus & sharing
your work and events
YOU may have.

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Performer Corner
 Meet The School of
Performing Arts Chair
Welcome to the inaugural School of Performing Arts newsletter! I’m excited that
we are working to connect students within the programs so you can learn about
all the exciting things happening in our areas. I’d like to thank Evelina and Keoni
for all of their hard work getting this newsletter off the ground, and I can’t wait to
see future issues!
I began playing the French horn in grade 4 and have enjoyed dabbling in a variety
of art forms throughout my life. While I studied music performance at Central
Washington University, I discovered that I liked producing the events in which I
was performing as much as actually performing, so in addition to my Music
Performance degree, I obtained a Music Business degree with a minor in Business.
After working in marketing in a corporate environment for years, I moved to
Canada to complete the certificate in Advanced Arts and Entertainment
Management here at Cap U.
After graduation, I launched an Arts and Entertainment Public Relations firm and
worked with a wide range of clients like classical music ensembles, comedians,
visual artists, commercial music artist, theatre festivals, and a certain popular
French circus. I began teaching in the Arts and Entertainment Management
Program when the diploma was launched in the 2005/2006 academic year. I am
grateful for the connections I made and the knowledge I gained here at Capilano
as a student, and for more than a decade it has truly been an honour to support
students as faculty as they launch their careers here in the School of Performing
Arts. Welcome to our family!

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Performer Corner
 The Capfest Experience
On Saturday, September 22nd, Capilano University
celebrated its 50th anniversary with lots of music,
Indigenous festivals, an alumni homecoming and much
more. I decided to go since I'm a new student and could
not wait to see what all the hype was about. As I got off
the bus I was immediately greeted by cheery faces
welcoming me to Capfest. As I walked around the campus
I could not help but get a feeling of warmth and
appreciation, just to think about all Cap U has gone
through to reach where it is now. Being able to see all the
alumni and hear stories of where they are now and seeing
the way new students’ eyes lit up when you asked them
about their program. Being around so many interesting
and inspirational people made me smile like a goofball the
whole time. Going to Capfest not only put me in the best
mood ever, but it made me realize the special bond
Capilano creates with its students and staff.

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Performer Corner
CAP U GOT TALENT
November 29 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Live Talent Showcase & After Party!
 Previously at
The BlueShore @ Cap
Fran Lebowitz
The BlueShore @ Cap kicked off its
2018/2019 season with special
guest Fran Lebowitz, a public
speaker, occasional actress, and
author with credits such as
Metropolitan Life and Social Studies.
She has appeared in several movies
and TV shows including Law &
Order and Wolf of Wall Street. She is
most well known for her "no filter"
type of commentary. Lebowitz hates
almost everything including Trump,
men who wear shorts and
avocados. If you’re trying to figure
out what she does like, the answer
is smoking. Her criticism brings her
fans from all around, you can't help
but laugh and agree when you hear
what she has to say.
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Tord Gustavsen Trio
Also in September was the Tord
Gustavsen Trio from Norway, an
extravagant and talented jazz trio
consisting of Sigurd Hole on bass,
Jarle Vespestad on drums, and
Tord Gustavsen on piano and the
composer. The trio, presented
their new album The Other Side,
a soothing tune about love and its
dark contours.
The Tord Gustavsen Trio has
toured internationally on several
festival and club circuits. They’ve
won several awards, such as
Favourite Jazz Album in 2016 for
What Was Said, and the 2014
German Music Critics’ Awards for
Extended Circle.
 Previously at
The BlueShore @ Cap
Lennie Gallant
A Canadian singer-songwriter and
instrumentalist from Prince
Edward Island, Lennie Gallant is a
folk, Celtic, rock and country artist.
Lennie Gallant has recorded 10
albums and has won the Juno
award for his album When we Get
There in 2007. The album made it
to the Space Shuttle Endeavor in
July 2009. In fact, Canadian
astronaut Julie Payette chose that
album for the astronaut crew on
their 16-day mission. Lennie
Gallant has toured all through
Europe and North America with his
band and did 6 shows at the
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics,
including BC Place during the
medal ceremonies.
Bria Skonberg
Born in Chilliwack, BC, Capilano Jazz
alumnus Bria Skonberg is a
trumpeter and songwriter. Bria is
making it big in the jazz world by
winning Jazz Album of the Year at
the 2017 Juno awards and charting
Top 5 on the Billboard Jazz Charts.
The Wall Street Journal described
her as "the most versatile and
imposing musician of her
generation." She has played at
venues large and small including
Madison Square Garden where she
performed The Star Spangled
Banner at a Rangers game. Skonberg
also co-founded the New York Hot
Jazz Camp for Adults and the New
York Hot Jazz Festival. She will be
sitting in with the Capilano jazz
ensemble "A" Band.
 What it's like to be a
first year AEM student

Jarod, 20 years old,

1st year AEM

What happens in Arts and Entertainment Management? “Immerse

yourself in the business side of the arts and entertainment industry
and get ready for a fast-paced career in a growing and dynamic
sector,” the program description states. The word ‘business’ might
scare people off, conjuring thoughts of budgets and expense reports
(zzzz). Well, if you want to be a musician — or an actor, or a stage
performer, or a painter, the list goes on —you do need to understand
business to some extent in order to be commercially successful. But
that doesn’t mean we aren’t an arts program - I mean, we are a part
of the School of Performing Arts, and we are the students helping to
run front of house at productions and planning campus events. Yes,
we have our feet firmly planted in the arts. We are a pretty artsy
bunch.
Arts and Entertainment Management, or AEM, teaches us business
within the context of the arts, so we don’t need to sit in a stuffy
Introductory Accounting I class trying to figure out how asset
management might be relevant to budgeting tour expenses. Instead,
we have instructors who have experience with, and work within, the
entertainment industry, who are able to connect those dots for us,
and ensure we learn these important business topics in a way that will
be relevant to us for a career in the arts.

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Performer Corner
(Continued on next page)
 What it's like to be a
first year AEM student
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a musician.
I’ve been playing instruments for around ten years, starting with guitar
and moving on to bass and piano, but learning the instruments was just
the beginning for me. I wanted to use them as tools to create, to
express, and to share. In high school, I auditioned for and was accepted
into an ACE-IT (Accelerated Credit Enrolment in Industry Training)
program called Music Production and Technology. This was more or less
my introduction to the practical side of being a musician. There is so
much more to music as a career than simply writing and playing — I
realized how important a role organizing, planning, budgeting, and
technical knowledge play. Experiencing firsthand just how much work
goes into writing, recording, and producing original music, and the
organization it takes to schedule, rehearse, and perform a live show, is
really what sent me in the direction of AEM — I wanted to learn how to
be in full control of my own creative direction.
While I’m only four weeks into the first year of AEM, I can already
see how knowledgeable the instructors are in their respective areas of
work, and there’s very much a creative application to the business
topics we have been learning. I feel that AEM bridges the gap between
business studies and fine or performing arts. As students in the
program, we are able to learn how to navigate the business and
operations side of the entertainment industry, and the learning
methods are much more oriented towards creativity and the arts,
rather than a standard lecture, textbook, note-taking method. I think
this sort of immersive, hands on, practical approach to business
education is so important, especially in this particular industry where
things are moving and changing so quickly.

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Performer Corner
 What it's like to be a first year Musical
Theatre (MUTH) student
Halle, 18 years old
Why did you choose What made you choose
Capilano? Musical Theatre?
I wanted to choose a local university To grow in my talent and get
because I'm from Langley. Whenever I legit training and connections, and it's
would go to theatre camps they would fun being able to explore how you can
always talk about Capilano and I met be different people on stage.
performers from the program and saw
them working at professional theatres What is your favourite
and their level of talent was amazing. I
also heard Capilano was very active in part so far?
the industry.
I love how my cohort is already a team
What so quickly into the program. I was
expecting it to be competitive, but we
is your are already so supportive of each other.
dream
role? Do you have any shows
coming up?
Christine I will be singing a solo piece
Daae in for my musical theatre midterm
Phantom this week in the Arbutus Studio. Come
of the see me sing!
Opera.

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Performer Corner
 What it’s like to be a member
of "A" Band?
Jordan Manderioli
First year
Pianist in “A” Band Ensemble
This is my first year at Capilano University as well as my first year
with the “A” Jazz Band and it’s quite an honour to be a part of it.
All of the musicians are incredibly focused, rehearsed, and
supportive. Currently, we are preparing for an upcoming
performance on October 26th in the BlueShore @ Cap. We will be
playing with vocalist and trumpeter Bria Skonberg.

WHAT ARE THE CLASSES LIKE?

“A” Band is directed by Brad Turner who is a gifted educator in
addition to his vast musical experience. The band meets every
Thursday evening for a 3 hour rehearsal in which we play music of
different styles and prepare for performances. Each section of the
band also practices once a week independently. The class is
focused on professionalism and preparedness.
One of the things that surprised me upon joining the group is the
amount of sight reading we do. Every class, we spend a large
chunk of the time reading through new pieces of music. The
expectation is that the music for performance is learned and
perfected outside of class time. For me, this is scary because I’ve
always been weak at sight reading, but there is no better
opportunity to improve. Since joining five weeks ago, I’ve come a
long way.
 What it’s like to be a member of
"A" Band?

HOW WAS THE AUDITION PROCESS?

In order to join the group, I went through an audition process
and was asked to sight read, improvise, and perform some
scales and arpeggios for Brad. It was by no means an intense
audition but there is definitely pressure to do your best and
make a great impression. I felt I did the best I could despite
my weak reading abilities.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE

INTERESTED IN JOINING?
For any musicians who aspire to be in this group, I fully
recommend working on sight reading and technique as much
as possible - the importance of these elements can’t be
overstated - but there is more to the process as well. It’s
crucial to be open minded, willing to learn, and reliable.
Furthermore, when auditioning, I believe in showing both
strengths and weaknesses. Professors and directors want
people who are teachable. If you are able to demonstrate
that you understand the fundamentals of music, but also are
humble and laser-focused on improvement, that will get you
further than any amount of virtuosic playing.
 OPEN CALL FOR
SUBMISSIONS!!!

Hey guys! Would you like to spread your

creativity or other events you or a friend may
be involved inClick
outside of Capilano
to add text and would
like others to know? Feel free to email us at
Capspanewsletter@gmail.com
Art pieces, music, shows, short stories,
fashion designs, outside extracurricular
activities, experiences, ideas etc. Are all
welcomed. Please be aware that all content
will be revised before being published.
Please make sure that the content is
respectful. Thanks! Can't wait to see
what CapU students has in store!

DEADLINE: NOV 13TH @5PM

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Performer Corner