Are you a songwriter looking for professional songwriting seminars and workshops, professional feedback on your songs, and a chance to perform for and interact with other songwriters? Then join us at The Art Song: A 3-Day Virtual Songwriting Workshop taking place February 19-21, 2021. The all-virtual weekend will include keynote speakers, panel discussions with professional songwriters, Q and A’s, one-on-one mentoring with professional songwriters, a chance to perform for all the attendees and mentors, and time between sessions to work on your own songs.

Itinerary

FRIDAY: Keynote Presentation by Joel Plaskett (7-9pm ET)

The weekend will kick off with a Friday evening keynote presentation from Juno-Award winning songwriter Joel Plaskett. Joel’s songs are a perennial part of the national playlist, a fixture on “best of” lists, and the soundtrack to the lives of faithful fans across the country and around the world. His accolades over a quarter century include a Juno, numerous East Coast Music, Canadian Folk and Music Nova Scotia awards, and two Polaris short list nominations.

His new project, 44, is his most detailed musical weave yet. A sprawling box set comprised of four 11-song albums connected visually and thematically, at its heart 44 is an imaginative rumination on trying to slow down and grow up in a rapidly accelerating world.

SATURDAY: Panel Discussion and One-on-one Mentoring (10am-11:30am ET Panel, followed by one-on-one sessions)

Saturday we’ll begin with a panel discussion led by our professional songwriting mentors Sarah Slean, Sameer Cash and Craig Cardiff (see below for bios). Then you’ll meet one-on-one with one of the mentors for feedback on one of your songs. In the afternoon, you’ll attend a songwriting workshop by Toronto Songwriting School President Murray Foster. Murray founded Toronto Songwriting School after two decades touring as a member of Great Big Sea and Moxy Fruvous.

There will also be time during that day to work on your songs individually. That evening, all attendees have the chance to join a private song circle to share a song, share a few laughs and connect with the rest of the attendees. The song circle will begin at 7pm ET.

SUNDAY: Professional Song Feedback from Mentors (10am – 1pm ET)

On Sunday, attendees will perform their songs for our full panel of mentors for feedback. We’ll end the weekend with an open mic performance that will be broadcast on social media so friends and family can tune in. The open mic will begin at 7pm ET.

Our Mentors:

Sarah Slean – Signed to Atlantic/Warner Records at the tender age of 19, this three-time Juno nominee and modern-day renaissance woman has since released 11 albums in over 10 countries worldwide.

Sameer Cash – Raised on a diet of rock & roll records and Hindu fairy tales, he released three albums with the scrappy powerfolk band Sam Cash & The Romantic Dogs and is now finding critical acclaim as a solo artist.

Craig Cardiff – This Juno and CFMA nominated songwriter’s songs have earned over 100 million streams. His cover of “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” was featured on NBC’s This Is Us.

Registration

The cost for the weekend is $250. All panels and workshops throughout the weekend will be recorded for those who can’t view them in real time. Register here:

Sponsors

Toronto Songwriting School gratefully acknowledges the support of SOCAN Foundation in making this event possible.