Arts Matter because the arts connect and define us. The arts are a way to celebrate life.
The Arts Matter lecture series invites Canadian artists to share their arts and experiences with Fraser Valley communities. In the second season, the organizers are honored and excited to welcome musician, Bria Skonberg, Author, David Bouchard, song-writer/story-telling musician Dan Mangan to the Chief Sepass Theatre at the Langley Fine Arts School.
During the day, Langley Fine Art School students will have access to the artists during workshop presentations, artist critiques, and/or class seminars. In the same evening, the featured artist will present their ideas to the community, all are welcome to attend. Each evening presentation will open with Langley Fine Art School student performances with the speaker to follow. There will be a question and answer period to conclude the event.
Tickets are available online or can be purchased at the Langley Fine Arts School Office. For more information, please call 604-888-3113.
The Arts Matter Lecture Series is to bring the arts to the community to celebrate the arts and promote arts education.
Bria Skonberg – November 22, 2013
Musician/Trumpeter/Vocalist/Composer
“Bria Skonberg is “poised to be one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation.” -Wall Street Journal.
Hailing from Chilliwack, BC, and now living in New York City, award winning trumpeter/vocalist/ composer Bria Skonberg is “poised to be one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation.”- Wall Street Journal. She has earned a 2013 Jazz Journalists’ Association nomination for “Up and Coming Jazz Artist of The Year” and is included in DOWNBEAT Magazine’s Rising Star Critics‘ Poll for 2013.
Her first professional gig was as a big band singer at age sixteen doubling on trumpet and she has since performed as a bandleader and guest artist all over North America, Europe, China, Japan. Since arriving in New York three years ago she has appeared in concert halls and clubs such as Symphony Space, Birdland, and The Iridium among the likes of Nicholas Payton, Anat Cohen, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Scott Robinson. She has been featured on Wycliffe Gordon’s projects, recording on the Louis Armstrong tribute “Hello Pops”, performing a Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie at Dizzy’s Jazz Club in New York and as a member of his big band.
Bria focuses on innovating while honoring tradition: She has studied with Warren Vache, experimented with fuzz pedals and presented a gig fusing jazz and stand-up comedy. Best known for her knowledge of classic jazz and pursuit of worldwide adventure, she is creating a style all her own rooted in swampy New Orleans grooves, featuring world percussion and soul influenced vocals. Her debut American release, “SO IS THE DAY”, peaked at #7 on the US National jazz charts and features an all-star ensemble including John Pizzarelli, Victor Goines and Wycliffe Gordon. Released on Random Act Records, 10% of all proceeds go to support the Jazz Foundation of America.
She currently tours the world, headlining major clubs and festivals as well as programming music education workshops for all ages. She is an active volunteer at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens.
David Bouchard – January 24, 2014
Author/Métis-Canadian Story Teller/Educator
“An acclaimed author of children’s books, David Bouchard is also a champion of literacy.” -Order of Canada, 2009
Arts Matter lecture series and the Langley Fine Arts School community is honoured to welcome David Bouchard on January 24th, 2014 to the Langley Fine Arts School and the Chief Sepass Theatre.
Champion for Literacy/Advocate for Children
“An acclaimed author of children’s books, David Bouchard is also a champion of literacy. This former teacher and school principal has written more than 50 books in English and in French. Many of them combine poetry, prose and visual arts, and explore topics such as the environment, history and the traditions and cultures of Canada’s Aboriginal communities.
Also a storyteller and sought after public speaker, he has traveled across the country to promote the importance and joy of reading and writing. In his presentations to children, parents and teachers, he addresses his own struggles with dyslexia. Proud of his Métis heritage, he is a former president of the Métis Nation of Greater Victoria and continues to serve as a community leader.” ~ taken from the investiture ceremony of the Order of Canada, 2009.
Canadian Métis author and literacy advocate David Bouchard has produced more than fifty books for readers of all ages, including two guides on reading for parents and educators.
An erstwhile teacher and school principal, he is particularly concerned with Aboriginal-related issues and is a sought-after speaker for conference keynotes and school presentations and on topics of reading, literacy and aboriginal well-being.
David Bouchard’s books have won numerous awards, including a Special Mention for Non-Fiction in the 2010 Bologna Ragazzi Awards for The Drum Calls Softly, a Gold Medal in the 2008 Moonbeam Award for I am Raven, the 2004 Governor General’s Award for The Song Within My Heart, the 1999 Red Cedar Award for The Great Race and the 1997 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award for Voices from the Wild. An Aboriginal Carol was included in the 2008 White Ravens Catalogue.
In April 2009, Bouchard was named as a Member of the Order of Canada “for his contributions as an author of children’s books and an advocate who has championed the cause of reading and writing, and who has shared his pride as a member of the Métis community through his stories.”
Most recently, David has received a remarkable honour: In 2013, in Oshawa, the David Bouchard Public School opened its doors.
David lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife Vicki and their daughter Victoria.
Dan Mangan – February 20, 2014
Independent Musician/Song Writer/Story-Teller
Arts Matter lecture series and the Langley Fine Arts School community is excited to welcome Dan Mangan on February 22nd, 2014 to the Chief Sepass Theatre at Langley Fine Arts School.
In a few short years, Dan Mangan has gone from globetrotting folk crooner to one of independent music’s most promising storytellers. In September 2011, on the back of critically acclaimed sophomore album Nice, Nice, Very Nice (2009), Dan released his award winning third offering, Oh Fortune. On it, rich, textured folk explored the genre’s boundaries, demonstrating Dan’s impressive growth in writing and arranging and earning him Juno Awards for New Artist of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year. Flanked with a stellar supporting cast, the album was bigger and more challenging, though still infused with the signature wit and wisdom that have made Dan such a fan favourite wherever he goes.
