Fanshawe College recently hosted their annual concert Share The Land, in honour of late Canadian music producer Jack Richardson.
The event consisted of multiple performances done by second-year graduating students of the Music Industry Arts (M.I.A) program just this past Tuesday.
“This is the first time that a lot of us have performed in front of a lot of people, not to mention family and friends, but this is one that everybody who wants to perform in the future gets a chance to do.” Says MC Host for the event and graduating M.I.A student Grayson Webber.
Share The Land was hosted and organized by the entire M.I.A program, including the help of other Fanshawe programs.
“It really brings the school together, all the students together, and we collaborated with so many programs. The audio post program, broadcasting, film. Everyone comes together, and we all collaborate. Says Manager and head of Share The Land within M.I.A, Isaac Kingshott.
“It’s a great environment for professional growth because we make connections with the people at the music hall. It gives our students opportunities to make connections for after school to get some jobs and gigs. It’s really great for anything like that.” Kingshott continued.
‘Christian Miles’ Performance (credit: Mayan Correia)
Throughout the 2-year program, students learn skills involving music business, artist/label management, digital media technology, audio and live sound production as well as song writing, producing and engineering.
“If you love music and you live in Canada, come to M.I.A. This program has been one of, if not the most pivotal moments in my career and will likely continue to be for the rest of my life. I’ve made so many close friends. We’re like family. It’s like nothing else.” Said Co-Manager within the program Owen Stratton.
The event had many different genres of music performed including every song being a dedication to Canadian based songs to honour our country.
“showing homage to these great, Canadian tunes and the awesome artists that wrote these songs and keeping their legacy alive, having us artists be able to take on their songs and sing them in our own creative ways.” Says M.I.A second year student and Share The Land performer Christian Miles.
“That’s an awesome thing because there’s a lot of great music out of Canada. And I know America overpowers a lot because America’s big, right? Everything’s bigger. But yeah, Canada has amazing artists and a lot of awesome music history, and it’s great that we can keep the legacy going in this way.”
Final Performance (credit: Mayan Correia)
The event was an overall success from the students who contributed, with each student giving their own piece of advice for next year’s concert and advice for aspiring artists moving forward.
Webber said: “Come and watch, we had fun. We’re a fun program and we’ve come a long way, and we put time and effort into what we do. I really hope that everybody involved had a blast, and that people find what they want to do in the future because it is a course and this is what people may or may not want to do.”
Stratton finished with a powerful quote that set the tone for the young adults moving into the Music Industry: “Never stop chasing your dreams. We got one life, you know? You got to live it to the fullest and not be bored. So do whatever you need to do.”
