Mapping Music Pathways 2:
Industry x Tech
March 1 and 2, 2024 | University of Toronto Scarborough
How do musicians thrive in today’s world? How do universities, colleges, and communities empower the next generation for the ever-changing music industry? Technology plays a vital role, shaping and changing how music is made and enjoyed, and opening up new career paths. We’ll explore current ways musicians create, sustain and grow their careers in Scarborough, the GTA, and beyond.
Held at UTSC, attendees had the opportunity to engage with insightful panels, network with diverse individuals, and add to research on music experiences. However, our event wasn’t just about conversation; it was a celebration of creativity, collaboration, and connection. Attendees were also treated to delicious food, performances and, expertly facilitated music exploration rooms.
Highlights included:
- Keynote message from Mark Campbell with a live demo from DJ Veteran
- Music exploration rooms including: the theremin (Colin), beat making (Bill Xu), jamming with music technology, and a rainbow room (Adrian Berry)
- Delicious food from Harmony Commons
- Participatory research with Adrian Berry
Thank you to everyone who attended, facilitated, and contributed to making this event a success. Together, we’re shaping the future of music and empowering the next generation of musical talent!
Keynote Speaker
Dr Mark V. Campbell
Mark V. Campbell is a DJ, scholar and curator. His research explores the relationships between Afrosonic innovations, hip-hop archives and notions of the human. Dr. Campbell is currently the Principal Investigator in the SSHRC funded research project, Hip Hop Archives: The Poetics and Potentials of Knowledge Production and founder at Northside Hip-Hop Archives. He is the founder of The Afrosonic Innovation Lab, a team of artists, creatives, and scholars actively engaged in sound experimentation, music-making and musicological analysis across the African diaspora.
His recent books include the monograph AfroSonic Life (2022), the co-edited collection of essays, We Still Here: Hip Hop in North of the 49th Parallel published (in 2020) and the co-edited collection Hip Hop Archives: The Politics and Poetics of Knowledge Production with Murray Forman (in 2023). Dr. Campbell is Assistant Professor of Music and Culture and Director of the Afrosonic Innovation Lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He holds Research Fellow positions with the Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence and the Research Centre for Music, Sound and Culture
Panels
Panel 1 - Community
Marco Adamovic (Moderator)
Marco is an educator and cultural producer. As an educator, Marco strives to facilitate positive and healthy environments for creativity, community, and collaboration to thrive. As a cultural producer, he is a multi-instrumentalist, beatmaker, songwriter, and organizer of a wide range of events and programs. He is the host Producers’ Circle, and works with people, technology, and (mostly) good ideas. His family emigrated to Turtle Island in the 1970s from the former Yugoslavia. Marco is a graduate of the Mille Rotman Shime Academic Bridging Program, an alumnus of Katimavik, and holds an M.Ed in Leadership, Adult, and Higher Education from the University of Toronto. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, at the University of Toronto.
Bill Xu is a dynamic and innovative figure in the music production landscape, with a rich background in fostering community engagement through technology. As an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, majoring in neuroscience, Bill has seamlessly blended his academic pursuits with his passion for music, demonstrating a unique ability to connect diverse fields. Over the past several years, he has been instrumental in cultivating a vibrant music production community at UofT, facilitating the music production community. This initiative has not only provided a nurturing space for aspiring musicians but has also emphasized the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in music technology. Bill is dedicated to teaching and inspiring others in musical development. His experience in composing for media, and commitment to exploring and implementing innovative ideas positions him as a forward-thinking leader of the creative industry. Bill’s unique perspective on the intersection of music, technology, and community engagement promises to offer valuable insights into how musicians can thrive in today’s ever-evolving landscape.
Sosah Serbeh is Director of Operations at The Galeri Studios. He holds a music background in Audio Engineering from Toronto’s Recording Arts Canada (RAC) school. Including studying and attending the Music Business Program at Humber College. His professional experience in entertainment involves music production & artist development for a number of Canadian and international artists. As well as, marketing & corporate sponsorship experience within the nonprofit sector for organizations like The EX and Blue Jays Care Foundation. In 2023 through a successful partnership with the Hook Sync & Co. he landed his latest music sync placement on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network for the cable TV drama series “Cherish The Day”. In addition to supporting the creation of Canada’s first Music Sync Production program for Canadian composers and producers.
Vanese Smith is the co-founder of the music organization Loop Sessions Toronto, which focuses on music production, education, and vinyl record culture. For over 2 decades she has created electronic music and DJed under the alias Pursuit Grooves and has served as mentor for Toronto Metropolitan University, Artscape, Canadian Music Centre, Small World Music, and Disney to name a few. As Mo:delic Arts she creates live visuals for multi-disciplinary performances.
Panel 2 - Public and Post-secondary Education
Kotoka Suzuki (Moderator)
Kotoka Suzuki is a Japanese-born composer and sound artist. Her work frequently investigates the relationship between visual elements and sound, often crossing into theater. Her compositions reflect on life, breath and nature, proposing sound as a physical form manipulated through the sculptural practice of composition. Inspired by the synthesis of technology and music, her work is written for a wide range of mediums, including acoustic instruments, electronics, video, dance, and multimedia, such as spatially interactive audio-visual work for both concert and installation settings. They are at times produced in collaboration with artists and scholars from other disciplines.
Suzuki’s work has been featured internationally by performers such as Arditti String Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Pacifica Quartet, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Continuum, and Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra (Germany). Her work has been presented at numerous venues and broadcasters such as Deutschland Radio, BBC Radio3, Ultraschall (Germany), ISCM World Music Days, The Stone, ZKM Media MuseumOpens (Germany), and Music at the Anthology (MATA).
She has taught at the University of Chicago and Arizona State University and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough with a graduate appointment in the Faculty of Music on the St. George campus. Her work is published by Edition RZ, EMF Media, IMEB records and Signpost Music. She has been an associate composer at the Canadian Music Centre since 2001.
Brian Jude de Lima is a racialized jazz pianist with allegiances to the styles of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Olivier Messiaen. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology/ Ethnomusicology, with research interests that examine the importance of learning the arts (particularly African American musics) as intersections of an interdisciplinary unified whole (music, dance, poetics, fine arts, theatrics). Dr. de Lima believes that, to teach a musical genre, one must first delineate its socio-cultural/ socio-political narratives that have contributed to its cultivation. As a performer, he has opened twice for Oscar Peterson and Diana Krall. As an administrator, Dr. de Lima is the Centennial college coordinator and program developer for the new joint program between the University of Toronto and Centennial College in Music Industry and Technology and Music Business and Technology. Professor de Lima’s published work can be found in IASPM, Routledge, Springer, University of Chicago Press, MUSICultres, and the Journal of African American Studies.
Dinitha Vithanage is a Sri Lankan-born filmmaker and film composer based in Toronto. In his final year at UTSC, he received the Abram Krashinsky Prize in Music. Since then, Dinitha has composed music for short films, feature films, and commercials for brands such as New Balance. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Technology and Digital Media at the University of Toronto. As a filmmaker, Dinitha is known for his narrative films and music videos. His recent short film, “For a Coffin Full of Gold”, won Best Director and Best Drama at the 20th University of Toronto Film Festival. Dinitha is currently completing his debut feature, “Midnight Boulevard.”
Jahmai Smith has been a team player in collaboration for original track sampled on Taylor Swift’s album for the song Nice to Have a Friend; worked on a project with Grammy Award-winning producer Frank Dukes, presented original work on an appearance of TV and radio personality George Stromouboupoulis’s radio show, performed live withCanadian singer and songwriter Jully Black; participated in number of recorded and live performances during tenure at CMST (RPSM) including recitals, community, and charity events such as The Luminato Festival and the annual Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC); was a participant in a four-week creativity and innovation workshop with actress and poet D’Bi Young. Techniques in Mixing and Mastering processes such as: Tracking, Compression, Reverb, Pitch shifting.
Mary Moynihan has been a music educator with the Toronto District School Board for twenty years. In this time, she has had the honour to teach secondary students across the system, and serve in leadership role as the Coordinator of Music for the district. In her current role as Program Coordinator of the Arts: Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts (K-12), she supports schools through professional learning, system events, and liaising with community partners with the goal of fostering culturally relevant and responsive Arts opportunities for students in the TDSB.
Panel 3 - Industry
Catherine Moore (Moderator)
Catherine Moore (she/her), Adjunct Professor of Music Technology & Digital Media at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, emphasizes creating — and pitching — value in business courses, workshop coaching, and consulting work. She teaches about music startups, new technologies for digital media creation & distribution, and the sustainability of communities through multi-national music initiatives.
Catherine taught at New York University from 1995 to 2016, directing the Music Business Program for many years. Her focus at NYU was on forecasting, price strategy, strategic marketing, A&R music evaluation, and international expansion. A graduate of Bishop’s University, the Conservatoire de Musique (Montréal), and the University of Liverpool (UK), Catherine’s first music-business job was managing a record store in Liverpool, England and she is a music critic for American Record Guide magazine.
Catherine’s other UofT role is setting up partnerships: with industry, computer scientists, UX designers, etc. Catherine continuously seeks parallels and inspirations from other industries (currently looking at food production and maritime shipping) — and tells anyone who’ll listen that it’s a vital way to protect against sector insularity.
Adrian Burke, a seasoned music industry professional with 20 years of experience, currently leads his own global consulting company, Locrian. Formerly the Lead for Label Partnerships at Spotify in Toronto, Adrian excelled in cultivating key partner relationships and implementing data-driven strategies. Before his Spotify exit, Adrian was leading the Canadian team with a key focus on tapping Canadian artists into the global music framework. Adrian has also worked with multiple major labels and began his career in the UK working in artist management & publishing, while also embracing his pursuit of academics.
Ayse Barut, a dedicated professional in the music industry and the not-profit sector, holds degrees in Arts Management (Specialist) and Music and Culture from the University of Toronto Scarborough. With a diverse skill set, her experience spans across marketing, education, artist management, publicity, journalism, research, media, content production, and event/festival management and collaborated with organizations across different genres such as Roy Thomson Hall, Northside Hip Hop Archive, NXNE, Toronto Blues Society, 6ixBuzz and many more. Ayşe just left her role as one of the main team members at Toronto’s new music media company The MOM3NT Network and works as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Wavelength Music while conducting artist interviews for Sidedoor Magazine and working freelance for artists/organizations. She also sits at the Anti-Racism and Equity Committee at Music Managers Forum Canada and her profound passion lies in fostering success for musicians.
Producer-engineer and songwriter Brent Bodrug is recently relocated back in Toronto, after spending a decade living in beautiful Prince Edward County making records out of his chapel-turned-studio, Sly-Fi Chapel. A former protégé of jazz great Oscar Peterson, Brent has had the opportunity to work with a multitude of international Juno and Grammy award winning artists.
He’s written songs with a who’s who in the business including Alanis Morissette and Jenna Andrews (BTS, Noah Cyrus, Lennon Stella). He’s co-produced projects for accomplished recording artists such as Donna Grantis (Prince, Third Eye Girl) and Ken Tizzard (Watchmen, Thornley, Big Wreck). And he’s engineered and mixed recordings for marquee Canadian performers such as Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy), Laila Biali, and Mark Kelso (The Jazz Exiles). He’s also recently worked on Alec Baldwin’s podcast “Here’s The Thing”, and this past year scored the feature film “Stealing the Sky”.
Priority Williams is an artist, CCO and one of The Founders of RoundTable Records! His Artistry Stems around R&B, HipHop and AfroCarribean genres. With RoundTable, Priority has Performed for Schools like UOfT, Marc Garneau Collegiate, Monsignor Percy Johnson and Companies like CNE, R.I.S.E and Socacize to name a few. He believes in supporting the Youth and delivering Artrepreneurship workshops showing the world that Art can be a means of healing, growth and a financially stable career without the need to be famous.
