What's Your Forte?

Today, we’re speaking with Laurier alum Mason Micevski on the importance of arts education, getting a Masters degree and the value of community. Mason Micevski is a recent graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Masters in Community Music. Apart from his studies, he is a professional musical theatre performer, playwright and the Creative Director of Emerson Arts in Hamilton, Ontario. Mason...

It’s time for another episode of What’s Your Forte! Today, Tamara Djuknic speaks with Olivia Vaughan, a graduate of Western University’s Bachelor of Arts program, double majoring in English and Music. Olivia provides useful insights for students who are passionate about music but may not want a career in it. And you won’t want to miss her tips on dealing with the workload of being a double major!

Passionate about music but not interested in becoming a music teacher or a performer? Erin White received her Bachelor’s of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, but now she’s preparing to become a lawyer! In this insightful conversation with Tamara Djuknic, Erin talks about how her background in music made her stand out as a law student at the University of Ottawa and how studying music has chan...

It’s time for another episode of What’s Your Forte! In this captivating episode, Tamara speaks with percussionist Madison Keats about what it means to really lean into your craft. Madison also delves into the heart of percussion ensembles, sharing her profound insights on the value of teamwork and trusting your fellow percussionists. Madison Keats (she/her) describes her interest in music beginnin...

Welcome back to another season of What's Your Forte? This season is all about different and unique careers someone can have with a background in music. To kick off the season, Tamara Djuknic interviewed Karen and Sara, two music therapy students at Laurier University. Sara Thoeny (all pronouns) is a music educator, performer and composer. Sara has been playing piano since the age of five years old...

On our last episode of 2023, Sandy and Ryan talk about the lessons they learned in 2023 and preview the exciting things to come at Bandology in 2024!

On our penultimate episode of What’s Your Forte? for 2023, Sandy and Ryan, our Community Programs Manager, sit down and review Bandology’s best year yet and answer questions from our Executive Director Lisa Michaels. Part Two comes out on Saturday, December 30, 2024. (Pictured, L-R: Ryan MacKinnon, Sandy Wright and Sara Thoeny, our Programming Team.)

Our guest this week is Amanda Kind, the Artistic Director of KW Glee, as well as a singer, songwriter, and commercial and musical theatre voice teacher based in Waterloo! She joins Sandy on What’s Your Forte? to talk about her unique career path and the importance of lifelong learning. Watch now on YouTube or listen on your preferred podcast platform! Amanda has released a wide variety of music in...

This week we welcome Dr. Rebekah Jordan-Miller to our What’s Your Forte? podcast! Rebekah is the Director of the Laurier Academy of Music and Arts (LAMA) and an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Music (WLU). She joins our Education Manager Sandy Wright to talk about her journey in music, the importance of music education and our collaboration on March Break Music Camp! Rebe...

Our season finale of What’s Your Forte, with special guest Cynthia Johnston Turner, is out now! She and Sandy talk about her journey from small-town Ontario to conducting bands with jets flying overhead, ways you can differentiate yourself as an artist and the best parts of being the Dean of Laurier’s Faculty of Music. The first in her  family to attend university, Cynthia received her B.Mus....

This week, Kathryn talks to oudist and quantum computing student Manar Naeem about her earliest experiences in music, favourite career moments and the importance of music education. Listen now or watch on YouTube or Facebook! Manar Naeem is a self-taught, Syrian-born oudist. She graduated with a physics degree with math and computer science minors from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is now pursui...

Conductor Colin Clarke joins us this week on What’s Your Forte, out now on YouTube, Facebook and wherever you get your podcasts! A sought-after clinician and adjudicator, Colin is best known for his work with the multi-award winning Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra. Having started the ensemble as a high school student, today TWYO enjoys a reputation nationwide as one of the leading performance ensembl...

This special episode of What's Your Forte? is a group interview on the many ways  to work in the music industry! Our guests today are at different stages of their music careers, and talk about their winding paths towards what they do, a typical day at work and the most exciting (and most challenging) aspects of their work. Meet our panelists: Michael Yates (he/him) is a dedicated educator who...

Our newest interview is out! This week, Lucas talks to Dr. Draw about his busking origins, the music that moves him and what some of his favourite performances are. Watch now or listen to What’s Your Forte on your favourite podcasting platform! Dr. Draw is the stage name of Moscow-born and Israel-raised electric violinist Eugene Draw. After moving to Canada with his family in 1992, Dr. Draw learne...

On this week's episode of What's Your Forte, Kathryn talks to guest  Rachel Campbell about her life growing up around music, why she loves  playing in so many different genres and the importance of putting  yourself out there.    Rachel is a musician from Alexandria, ON, who plays a variety of  instruments including the harp, violin, piano, mandolin, voice and &n...

Today we are incredibly excited to be releasing an interview with Tyler Shaw for the latest episode of What’s Your Forte! This week, Tyler chats to Lucas about his tour routines, songwriting process and favourite concerts. Check it out on YouTube and Facebook (link in stories)! Tyler Shaw is a multi-Platinum-selling artist, producer, and actor. The Chinese-Canadian musician from Vancouver released...

What’s Your Forte returns after a one-week break! This week’s guest is  Sarah Hagan, a music industry consultant and artists relations expert  with 20 years of experience. She talks about her career, the joy of live  music returning and gives advice on how to break into the industry. Sarah started drumming at ten years old and began teaching drum lessons  at the age of sixteen, continuing over the...

“The thing about music, there’s this nurturing of our souls.”    Karen Donnelly, principal trumpet for the National Arts Centre  Orchestra, is our guest on What’s Your Forte this week! She and Kathryn  talk about touring Canada, the moment she realized the depth to which  music could impact you, the best gig she’s ever seen and some key advice  for the next generation...

Our guest this week is JUNO-award winning drummer Ernesto Cervini. He  and Kirsten talk about the best gigs he’s ever played, winning an award during a pandemic and the inspirations for his next album. He also gives  his best advice on practicing and avoiding comparing yourself to  others, and talks about the ways in which music makes a difference for  students. Watch now on Yo...

Shaun and Naomi from The Queer Songbook Orchestra are our guests on What’s Your Forte this week! They chat to Kathryn and Kirsten about the importance of music in building an uplifting community, as well as the ensemble’s history and their new Queer Songbook Youth Orchestra program. They also give advice on charting a career in music and geek out about jazz, My Chemical Romance and their favourite...

“We call it playing for a reason!” What’s Your Forte returns for Season 4! Our first guest this season is Adina V, a singer-songwriter, teacher and Humber College grad based in Toronto. On this episode, she and Sandy discuss her favourite artists, unique journey into music and give some much-needed advice to budding guitarists everywhere. A previous Play A Gig guest, Adina V is a singer-songwriter...

Our final guest for What’s Your Forte Season 3 is Brent Rowan! Brent Rowan is a professional community musician and director of the Guelph Youth Big Band, New Horizons Band Guelph and member of the Juno-nominated world music band eccodek! A saxophonist based in Guelph, Ontario, Brent performs in a wide variety of musical collaborations including 2009 and 2015 Juno-nominated eccodek, big bands, jaz...

Lee Willingham is our guest for episode 10 of What’s Your Forte’s Season Three! Dr. Lee Willingham is the Professor of Music Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he runs the Music Education program, the Master of Arts program in Community Music and the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community. He co-authored the 2017 book “Engaging in Community Music, An Introduction” as well as the 202...

This week’s guest on What’s Your Forte is Tim Louis! Currently the Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga, Tim Louis is also an award-winning songwriter and musician. His constant writing and recording - four albums and counting - have created a collection of original tunes. He has performed in solo shows and small jazz combos, as the guest vocalist for the Canadian Big Band, and has arrange...

Dr. Chris Cigolea is our guest for episode eight of What’s Your Forte Season 3! Chris is the Music Director and Conductor of the Guelph Concert Band, Music Director for St. John’s-Kilmarnock School and C.I.G. School of the Performing Arts, and enjoys a busy international performing schedule as a trumpet player, guest conductor and clinician. Born in Romania, Chris studied at the National Universit...