Meet the Mentors: Alan Greyeyes, Andrina Turenne, Bonnie Seidel, Eryka MacLean, Julien Boumard Coallier, Stephen Carroll
In Canada, there is support available from various funding agencies for a wide variety of music projects that include touring, recording, artist and business development, showcasing, and more; as well as programming for artists that identify as Indigenous. The biggest challenge can be finding the right grant and writing the strongest application. On April 8, we'll be talking all about it at How to Write Strong Grant Applications with some experts. Get to know them a little better...
Alan Greyeyes, a member of Peguis First Nation, manages iskwē and Celeigh Cardinal; works as the festival director for the sākihiwē festival; and, volunteers on the board of directors for the Polaris Music Prize, the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s Indigenous advisory committee, the National Music Centre's Indigenous Steering Committee, and the Rap and Indigenous category committees for the JUNO Awards.
Andrina Turenne is a singer, songwriter, and musician born and raised in St Boniface, Manitoba with strong ties to her Métis and Francophone roots. Over the last two decades, she has toured extensively over five continents and recorded multiple records with her own groups, including JUNO award-winning Chic Gamine. She has released 7 albums and has sang on over 35 professionally-released albums. In the last few years, she has composed music for original theatre productions and short films. She now writes, records and performs as a solo artist, building on years of experience both on and off the stage.
Bonnie Seidel has been the music programs administrator at Manitoba Film & Music for eight years, where she has helped hundreds of artists move their careers forward. Music has always been one of the most important things in Seidel's life. She went to her first concert in 1997, and can be found in the crowd at many, many shows around the city. Seidel graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2010.
Having grown up in Scarborough (within the GTA) has led to Eryka MacLean having a deep appreciation for culture and the impact it brings to our societies. She’s passionate about music and homegrown talent. That passion drove her to FACTOR, and she’s been a part of their team since the summer of 2009. She carries her love of culture and music with her in all she does. She’s invested in helping artists see success and bringing them onto a stage where they can show the world their unique art.
As a graduate in communications studies whose Master’s thesis was on the practices of vinyl, Julien Boumard Coallier’s passion for music led him to explore every corner of the industry. Whether it’s through his academic research, his work for various cultural and musical media outlets or his stint working for a record label, Julien has honed his professional skills and developed a wide network of contacts. Now active as SOCAN Foundation’s grant program’s manager, this role allows Julien to fully exploit his communication, interpersonal and marketing skills to simplify the granting process, promote music and its creators and implement the organization’s strategic vision.
Stephen Carroll is the music programs manager for Manitoba Film & Music. Carroll achieved international recognition as a member of the JUNO-nominated band The Weakerthans (Epitaph/Anti Records). After joining the group in 1998, he managed all of the business affairs and helped steer the group to fame. In 2009 he began managing the Manitoba band Imaginary Cities and went on to form Empirical Artist Services Inc. Carroll was awarded Manager of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2013, after garnering nominations for the award the two previous years. Carroll was a member of the board of directors for FACTOR and currently serves on the board of Manitoba Music.