Morgan-Paige’s story with her piano began with The Music for Young Children Program, then Suzuki, and eventually graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Music program with the Associate and Licentiate diplomas in Piano Performance. She has competed and won numerous classes in the Kiwanis Music Festivals of Guelph, Stratford, North York, Toronto and Ottawa. She is a four-time provincial finalist (OMFA – Ontario Music Festival Association), placing in the top 6 in 2013 in her category for Diploma level piano. Morgan-Paige also competed in the national Canadian Music Competition 2017 winning third place for under-23 category for piano. Morgan has performed extensively in Toronto, GTA, Guelph, Bahamas, and recently Montreal and France. She also performed at Koerner Hall during Culture Days celebrations, the 21C Music Festival, Burdock Piano Fest in Toronto, Château d’Orquevaux Artist Residency in Orquevaux, France, the Cinéclub Film Society silent film festivals in Besançon, France, and Montreal, Québec, and Alexina Louie’s award ceremony at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto.

To know her, is to love her, and when her fingers touch the keys, pure magic enfolds.

~ Written by Sandra Melbourne (sister)

Which ‘hood are you in?

I’m in Midtown/North Toronto which I find is a great balance between the hustle-and-bustle and the quietness of the city. I absolutely love going for long walks, so walking on Bloor,  Queen St., and Harbour Front is one of the things I enjoy! In a non-pandemic world, you would definitely find me at a café doing some work, checking out art galleries and museums!

What do you do?

I am a concert pianist with focuses in contemporary music, improvisation, scoring and songwriting. I am also a piano teacher and youth choir director.

What are you currently working on? 

I’m currently working on the music for my collaboration with dancer Syreeta Hector and Tapestry Opera for the digital performance of Where Do I Go?. It captures life at our most difficult time using a combination of instrumental, improvisational, singing and spoken word elements to broaden the scope of how music depicts our livelihood. Other projects I’m working on are an EP collaboration with a friend as well as a work for choir.

Where can we find your work?

Where Do I Go? is streaming live on Tapestry Opera’s YouTube channel March 27, 8pm EST.

You can find my work on YouTube, music streaming platforms (i.e. Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play), social media and website.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/morgan.paige.m

The post “A Day in the Life” with Toronto pianist Morgan-Paige Melbourne appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

What is your business called and what does it do?

The business is called CURSED BLESSINGS RECORDS, we are a record label specializing in punk, hardcore and heavy metal.  The business was founded by Al Nolan in June of 2020.

What made you want to do this work?

The entertainment business is in my blood.  My parents were classically trained ballroom dancers (1972 North American Champions in Latin and Ballroom!) and they also were heavily involved in every aspect of a local theatre company.  From a very young age, I learned about staging, sets, lighting, performance, live vocals, acoustics, event planning, marketing, ticket sales etc.  I put on my first event when I was about 13 ( a dance with the help of my twin sister) and then around 15 or so I started to promote rock shows…..mainly because there wasn’t anyone else doing it and I wanted to see good music in my quaint little hometown of Bowmanville.

From there I started performing in bands and did so for nearly 30 years.  I was a co-founder of The Dungeon in Oshawa and helped to guide the music scene in the mighty Shwa (Oshawa, Ontario) for many years alongside the legendary Jason King.  Given my lifelong history with entertainment and my almost equally as long friendship with label owner Al Nolan, when I was approached to help run Cursed Blessings Records, it was definitely a natural fit.

What problem does this solve?

We solve an age-old problem, making the hell we live in sound a lot better.  To quote the late Mark K Gibson of The Almighty Trigger Happy; “Things are always gonna’ suck, we’ll just be here to provide a good soundtrack.” (RIP Mark)

Who are your clientele/demographics?

The wicked thing about the scene that we run in is that age simply does not matter.  Our demographic is anyone who has good taste in music and our clientele is a diverse as they come.  We have the good fortune to have a product that can be (and has been!) enjoyed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

How does your business make money? How does it work?

We produce and manufacture vinyl records on behalf of bands.  We establish a cost-per-unit price and sell the records to the public at a marked-up price in order to pay the bands royalties and to ensure the ongoing existence of our company.  We also release digital albums that are for download only.

Where in Toronto can we find your profession?

Our business can be found in every corner of this city, country and world.  But in the meantime while we’re still on lockdown due to Covid-19, you can find us online at Cursed Blessings Records.

Why should a band sign with you when they can manufacture and sell their albums themselves?

This is a common question, and a good one to ask yourself if you’re thinking about starting a record label.  The harsh reality is that the music business is nowhere near as lucrative as it has been in decades gone by.  Digital music, downloading and an overall change in our way of life has resulted in less people having the need to buy physical copies of the music they like.  Bands have more tools at their fingertips today than ever before, ways to literally become famous overnight.  They can record, mix, master and produce music from their phones nowadays but once the music is out, most band don’t have the time, resources or the first idea of how to go about marketing their music and themselves and ultimately selling it in order to make a living. We utilize a network of contacts that has been amassed over a combined 60 years in the music industry to get our bands heard by the most influential people in the business as well as by the general public.

What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?

The best part about my job is the creative aspect.  Figuring out how to present ourselves and our bands to the world, developing our branding and our style.  Seeing the reactions of happy people listening to our bands also makes this job the best.  It doesn’t hurt that I work with one of my dearest friends ever and I am a true fan of the bands we have signed.  The worst part of the job is having to say no to people who you like, who’s bands you’ve played with or even in.  Bands who were in the trenches with you, looking for the very break that we now offer.  It sucks to say no to bands.

What is your favourite joke about your own profession?

There’s lots of money in the music industry.
That’s the joke…..
It’s so funny because it’s so untrue.

PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Toronto business that you love?

Toronto is full of SO many excellent businesses and business people.  Gotta’ shout out The Bovine Sex Club, Hammer Skateboard, Hot Docs Film Festival, I Am Cafe and Blood Brothers Brewing.  All amazing companies who I highly recommend.

Doug Smart
VP/Label Manager
Cursed Blessings Records
www.cursedblessingsrecords.com

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The 15^th annual SiriusXM Indie Awards as part of Canadian Music Week took place on Saturday May 9th, 2015 in Toronto.

The annual event featured acknowledgements of accomplishments in the Canadian music scene as well as musical performances, all presented to a packed room of fans and industry professionals at the Grand Ballroom of The Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto.

SiriusXM Indie Awards winners were recognized across 37 categories.  Bands ALVVAYS, Caribou, The Weeknd and Death From Above 1979 were among the nominees who took home the top prizes.

Live performances at the show included The Glorious Sons, Alvvays, Broncho, Miracles, and Billy Talent with SiriusXM Canada’s Jeff Leake hosting the night.

2015 SiriusXM Indie Awards Winners listed below

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World (Last Gang Records)

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) – Yin Yang (Coalition Music)

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
The Glorious Sons (Black Box)

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Weeknd (XO)

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tanya Tagaq (Six Shooter Records)

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Owen Pallet (Secret City Records)

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
You+Me (Dine Alone Records)

ALTERNATIVE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Dan Mangan + Blacksmith (Arts & Crafts Productions)

COUNTRY ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Dallas Smith (604 Records Inc)

DANCE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Adventure Club (Adventure Club/BMG Rights Management)

ELECTRONIC ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Caribou (City Slang /Merge)

FOLK/ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Del Barber (True North)

FRANCOPHONE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Radio Radio (Bonsound)

JAZZ ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
BadBadNotGood (Arts & Crafts Productions)

METAL ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Devin Townsend Project (Inside Out Music/eOne)

POP ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
MAGIC! (Latium)

PUNK/HARDCORE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
White Lung (Domino)

RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Naturally Born Strangers (Legends League)

ROCK ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Glorious Sons (Black Box)

SOUL/R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR
PartyNextDoor (OVO Sound)

INTERNATIONAL GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
Run The Jewels (Mass Appeal)

INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Hozier (Rubyworks)

INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
St. Vincent – St. Vincent (Loma Vista)

INTERNATIONAL SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Hozier – Take Me To Church (Rubyworks)

SIRIUSXM EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR (FRENCH)
Miracles (Music Mansion)

SIRIUSXM EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR (ENGLISH)
Alvvays (Royal Mountain Records)

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