Photo by Eric Parazelli

Denis Wolff awarded PMPA 2018 Prix Christopher J. Reed

Story by Eric Parazelli | Wednesday June 27th, 2018

On June 13, 2018 the Professional Music Publishers’ Association (PMPA) awarded its Christopher J. Reed to Montréal music publisher Denis Wolff.

Named after the influential music publisher who died in 2012, the Prix Christopher J. Reed is presented annually, since then, to an outstanding music publishing advocate. The honour recognizes one who’s demonstrated a high level of commitment to their profession, as well as to copyright compliance, and the rights of creators. The award presentation, organized by APEM with SOCAN support, took place in Montréal as part of the 2018 Rendez-vous Pros des Francos music festival.

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Denis Wolff got started in the music business as sub-publisher of the Beggars Banquet catalogue. In the 1990s, he joined Audiogram, Québec’s premium independent label, where he spent nearly 15 years in capacities ranging from VP of the Music Publishing Division, which he set up, to Director of Creative Services. He’s worked closely with artists such as the late Lhasa De Sela, Bran Van 3000, Loco Locass, and Pierre Lapointe.

In 2007, Wolff created Maisonnette, an agency  offering full film and television composition and production services, where he worked closely with a number of composers  (Jean Massicotte, Patrick Watson, Philippe Brault, Benoît Charest, Samuel Laflamme, Mathieu Vanasse, and more) whose original music he’s placed in more than 50 screen productions over the past few years.

In 2014, Denis Wolff partnered with Mary Catherine Harris to create Harris & Wolff, a one-stop, online, pre-cleared music library, catering to the film and TV market, among others. In 2017, Wolff launched Ray-On, an artist development and music services agency.

Wolff, who’s been a member of the PMPA Board of Directors since 2011, has also served on the boards of ADISQ (1998-2003), Musicaction (1999-2006), Fonds RadioStar (2001-2006, including President from 2004 to 2006 and Vice-President from 2001 to 2003), and SOPROQ (2004-2006). His industry awards include three consecutive ADISQ awards for Publisher of the Year (for Éditions Kaligram in 1997, 1998 and 1999) and the ADISQ award for Record Producer of the Year (for Jean Leloup’s Les Fourmis). Wolff was also the recipient of the inaugural SOCAN Publisher of the Year award, presented at the Montréal SOCAN Awards Gala in 2016.

Photo by Blake Hannahson

Soundstreams 2018 Emerging Composers Workshop fosters creation of new concert music works

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday June 28th, 2018

The sixth annual edition of the Soundstreams Emerging Composers Workshop took place from May 30 to June 8, 2018, offering mentorship from two well-established, veteran concert music composers to six emerging ones, via workshops, masterclasses and seminars throughout that period.

The partricipating mentors were David Lang, from the U.S., who won the Pulitzer Prize for The Little Match Girl Passion, and Canadian (and SOCAN member) James Rolfe, best known for The Overcoat and I Think We Are Angels. The emerging composers were Alexandre David (Montreal), Joshua Denenberg (Cortlandt Manor, NY), Pierce Gradone (Chicago), Lieke van der Voort (Toronto), Tyler Versluis (Hamilton), and Christina Volpini (Hamilton).

The 10-day event culminated in a Soundstreams Main Stage presentation of the mentors’ works, The Little Match Girl Passion and I Think We Are Angels, followed by a showcase for the ECW participants  at Crow’s Theatre, where each composer presented their piece, as performed by an ensemble scored for voice, piano, cello, violin, and percussion.

For 2019, the 10-day workshop will be starting much earlier in order to accom modate mentor availability, so a new call for applications is expected in mid-July. Visit www.soundstreams.ca for more information.

Photo by Dave Chan

SOCAN welcomes new measures to expand markets for Canadian creators

Story by SOCAN | Tuesday June 26th, 2018

SOCAN is pleased to see new measures announced today by Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly as part of the new Creative Export Strategy. SOCAN has long been encouraging the government to address the export of our cultural goods; as such, the announcement offering new tools to achieve this end is welcomed.

“With the new technologies, the world is within the reach of Canadian Creators, and providing them with the means to make their mark on the international stage is a winning strategy,” said Eric Baptiste, SOCAN’s Chief Executive Officer. In SOCAN, the Government of Canada will always find a partner committed to further developing markets for our Canadian Creators, both at home and abroad.