Ontario Presents is thrilled to support our members and staff to attend conferences and professional development events with a special focus on discovering new artists. This article is an opportunity for our network to benefit vicariously through those experiences.
Below is an account of IPAA's Soundin' Rez event as told by Jayson Duggan, Performing Arts Manager at the Kingston Grand Theatre.
On Monday March 23rd, I was fortunate to be able to join my OP colleagues at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts in Brantford, Ontario for a day of block booking discussions and an emerging artist showcase presented by the Soundin' Rez Symposium.
The block booking meeting was attended by a large number of Ontario Presents members, both in person and online, and provided a welcoming and collegial environment allowing us an opportunity to review recent programming in our venues, discuss the last remaining 2026-2027 tour offers and focus on larger projects that we are targeting for the 2027-2028 season. It is hard to believe that we are already discussing a new season before having 26-27 all wrapped up; however, with larger international tours, the more planning time the better, especially when cross-Canada coordination will be necessary.
We broke for lunch around 12:00pm and this gave us a chance to grab some delicious locally catered food and socialize with some of the Soundin' Rez Symposium participants who we would see perform on stage later that afternoon. It was also great to reconnect with colleagues and bump into some familiar faces including singer/songwriter Julian Taylor who had recently played our theatre with Logan Staats as part of an Ontario Presents tour last January.
Following lunch we had a few more hours of presenter meetings before heading into the theatre for the Soundin' Rez showcase which was part of a three-day symposium tailored for Indigenous artists, creators, and media professionals working in sound. Presented by IPAA, Seeing Red Media, Thru the RedDoor, Ontario Presents and The Sanderson Centre, the showcase featured a wide variety of musical styles and provided each emerging Indigenous artist the unique opportunity to perform one song on the Sanderson Centre main stage with the backing support of JUNO Award winner Derek Miller and his band. Once the showcases had completed the Presenters were able to mingle with the performers and provide supportive suggestions and feedback to positively encourage each artist as they pursue their musical careers. It was inspiring to see the breadth of talent on the stage and I have no doubt we will see many of these talented artists on our stages sooner than later. ∎
Photograph provided by IPAA