Widening the Circle

Widening the Circle Composer Mentorship Program

Widening the Circle uses a unique mentorship model involving three groups of participants: a Youth cohort, aged 14-19; an Emerging cohort; and, a Professional cohort, recognized Canadian composers and music educators. The program will take place online over a 14 week period from November – February and will include lessons, meetings, and group discussions. Youth composers will have up to 12 one-on-one lessons with their Emerging composer mentors via video conferencing platform. Emerging composers will have bi-weekly videoconferencing check-ins with their Professional composer.

The program’s mission is two-fold: to widen support networks in composition for composers from diverse backgrounds and at various stages in their development, and; to encourage community-based learning. In this program, Emerging composers mentor the Youth cohort while at the same time receiving guidance in music composition pedagogy from the Professional cohort. The program will also include moderated discussions available to all past participants of the festival’s Young Artist and Young Composers program. Readings and resources for further exploration will also be compiled and shared with composers and composition educators in our networks.

The Tuckamore Festival is dedicated to providing events and programs that are accessible, inclusive, and free from oppression, harassment, and discrimination. Our Young Artist programs provide a nurturing and collaborative environment where expression, dialogue and intercultural understanding are valued. The Widening the Circle program in particular prioritizes the participation of a diverse range of gender identities, as well as BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ youth, which we hope will encourage and stimulate a diversity of creative voices from the ground up.