Manitoba Music Announces Board of Directors for 2019-20, Kevin Walters Legacy Award Recipients

Musician & Music Entrepreneur Ashley Au and Songwriter Matt Schellenberg Receive Kevin Walters Legacy Awards

Manitoba Music announced its board of directors for 2019-20 and celebrated another busy and exciting year at its annual general meeting on June 19 at The Forks.

Manitoba Music is the hub of Manitoba’s vibrant music community. A member-based, not-for-profit industry association, it represents over 750 members in all facets of the music industry, including artists and bands, agents and managers, venues and promoters, studios and producers, and more in every genre. Through its programs and services, Manitoba Music provides information, education, and industry development opportunities to nurture, develop, and promote the growth and sustainability of the Manitoba music industry. Download Manitoba Music’s 2018-19 Annual Report

"At Manitoba Music, we are working to make connections between musicians and their fans, and to make our lived environment vibrant, creative, and relevant through music,” says Manitoba Music's president, Bob Somers. “The value our members contribute to life in Manitoba, and their important role as ambassadors for Manitoba as they connect with audiences around the world, is absolutely clear.”

“It’s inspiring to watch our members, colleagues, and partners work so hard in the service of creativity, and we are proud to be a part of these efforts. We are grateful for the dedication of our members and the support of our funders and partners as we continue to strive to be a leader in music sector development,” said Manitoba Music’s executive director, Sean McManus.

Manitoba Music would like to thank departing directors, Stephen Carroll, Erick Casselman, Bucky Driedger, Vanessa Kuzina, and Alex Sannie for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to Manitoba Music and its membership. Each has left a lasting mark on the association and their perspective and guidance will be missed.

Manitoba Music is pleased to welcome Synonym Art Consultation’s Chloe Chafe, Deloitte LLP’s Suzanne Holatko, The Good Will Social Club’s David Schellenberg, and hip hop artist Malcolm-Jay Wilson to the board. They bring a fresh viewpoint and invaluable expertise that will be assets to the work of the board and the association.

At the AGM, the board of directors announced this year's recipient of the Kevin Walters Legacy Award, in honour of Kevin Walters, a long time Manitoba Music board member and music industry legend. The award recognizes an emerging professional in the music industry. This year, the honour went to Ashley Au, a Winnipeg-based bassist, composer, arranger, and educator. A multifaceted musician, Au specializes in the upright and electric basses and is a sought after session musician and music educator. After completing a degree in Jazz Bass Performance (B. Mus) at Brandon University, Au has become an active member of Winnipeg’s music scene through performing with acts such as John K. Samson, Carly Dow, Scott Nolan, William Prince, and Chuck Copenace. Au has established herself in the industry for her work with co-producing Pride Winnipeg’s Festival stages, producing the Luck7 performance series, volunteering with Girls Rock Camp, running production/recording workshops for underserved youth for Skills Canada, and sitting on Creative Manitoba’s board of directors.

This year, Manitoba Music’s board also announced the recipient of a new honour made possible by the Kevin Walters Memorial Fund, which recognizes significant achievement in songwriting by a Manitoba artist. Matt Schellenberg was announced as the inaugural recipient. Schellenberg started his professional music career with The Liptonians, who won a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Pop Recording in 2008. Schellenberg’s current musical collective, Royal Canoe, has toured the world and has been featured in many a taste-making blog as well as receiving a shout out from the New York Times, Consequence of Sound, and their network television debut on Last Call With Carson Daily. Alongside the band, Schellenberg's work on scoring and composing has brought him into the national spotlight as an emerging composer. His work on commercials, documentaries and feature films has landed him 2017 Visual Media Composer of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards, and a nomination for Best Original Song at the Canadian Screen Awards. Schellenberg composed the theme music to a three CBC show’s over the past two years and recently has provided commercial music for the likes of Adidas, Facebook, and the latest promotional campaign at The Forks.

Manitoba Music 2019-20 Board of Directors

Bob Somers, Scatliff + Miller + Murray (President)
Stu Anderson, Mighty Cypress Talent
Chloe Chafe, Synonym Art Consultation
Desiree Dorion
Cheryl Grewar, Frantic Films
Suzanne Holatko, Deloitte LLP
Irina Ivanov Bissonnette, Winnipeg Folk Festival
Michael Jack, City of Winnipeg
David Schellenberg, The Good Will Social Club
Ruth Shead, University of Manitoba
Malcolm-Jay Wilson