a re-print from “The Record”
The more I think about what Radio Communautaire Missisquoi is and does, the more I realize how close we are in spirit to the Orford Arts Centre. OAC and RCM both attract young musicians and artists embarking on professional careers within the world of music and the recording and broadcasting arts and sciences.
The OAC’s main focus is to help develop the talents of young musicians from around the world through training in the performing arts, and RCM’s focus is geared toward the training and development of young artists (musicians, singers, songwriters, producers, sound engineers, promoters and actors) in the arts and sciences of recording broadcasting.
Our job as a rural multimedia production company is very challenging in the light of today’s technological world. RCM has to train volunteers on a continual basis if we want to be successful.
The pool of available talent in our local community is much smaller than in larger centres such as Montreal, and defies us to come up with strategies that will attract people interested in music, multimedia production and performance. The OAC has built a solid base over the past 59 years in its Orford park facilities here in the Townships, and has realized all along that its market is young aspiring professional musicians.
On the other hand, RCM is at a turning point in its young history and must increase its human resources to move forward. Therefore, training and job creation are RCM’s main priorities.
The employees we have at the moment, Holly Bailey and Scott Edmonston (Emploi Quebec Training and job creation program) and David McGovern (federal summer job program) have been trained on the job with hands on experience in radio production and events promotion. To keep Bailey and Edmonston onboard gainfully employed and to hire new people, requires RCM to continue developing new projects.
Meanwhile OAC’s efforts, “have and continue to be fervently dedicated to the development and training of highly talented young musicians of all races and nationalities,” explains the centre’s website, “who are reaching the end of their studies or who are at the beginning of a professional career. Summer workshops and master classes, held over a period of nine weeks, form the basis of training for these bright young individuals.”
Working alongside of the academy as an organization dedicated to the dissemination of classical music, the Orford Summer Festival has distinguished itself as one of Quebec’s major cultural events through unparalleled musical performances.
More than sixty concerts are given each summer. Renowned orchestras, ensembles, guest artists, prestigious professors attached to the Academy and the finest students of the OAC perform at these events, drawing listeners from all over the province, nationally and from around the world.
“The Festival is intimately tied to the Academy,” states the OAC website, “and is an essential component of a young musician’s training.”
The centre’s teachers and facilities are what attract young artists to Orford. The chance to perform on stage in front of a captive audience and to hear well established artists perform is a hands on experience hard to resist.
This is the direction RCM is heading in with its Stop! show TV program and radio-show productions. They involve young aspiring artists looking to gain experience through a hands on approach behind the scenes as well as performing onstage and in front of a radio microphone and TV cameras.
Most people interested in the recording and broadcasting arts and sciences today are musicians, and a product of a huge emerging market of talented creative people looking for an outlet. Generally, as young people, we begin to have an interest in popular music while in school.
The music industry makes a living out of defining a generation’s attitude by discovering and promoting artists as members of a tightly knit cultural group, which in turn sparks a heavy interest in young people to seek out successful careers in the business.
What makes this attitude more widespread today is that the technology used to perform, write, produce and promote professional sounding pop music (the same software and hardware RCM uses) is readily available and affordable to most artists. It’s fair to say that technology has taken the importance out of the music industry. No longer can the industry claim exclusivity over creative expression. It has also made producing radio and TV more affordable and available to communities wanting to participate.
One of the great projects the OAC has developed is Orford on the Road. It’s a production that brings a mix of classically trained musicians, mainly the centre’s finest students, to different venues throughout the Townships to perform. On July 21st the Town of Brome Lake was pleased to produce, in conjunction with the OAC and RCM’s Steinway piano, an evening of beautifully performed music at the Knowlton United Church.
Considering the room was filled to capacity, it’s expected that the second show of the two-concert series, taking place at the church August 9, at 8pm, will be equally well attended. Admission is free.
It’s not always about the money. We encourage all of you who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. We have not come this far for nothing. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen on your radio dial at 99.1 FM or online at rcmmedia.org. Send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.
The photos are of Orford Arts Centre students performing at the United Church in Knowlton July 21st for the Orford on the Road series of concerts.
Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.
Tags: highly talented, Orford Arts Centre, Orford on the Road, Orford park, Orford Summer Festival, performing arts, promoting excellence, young artists
