Ignite! 2013: Vancouver's Youth-Driven Arts Festival, presented by The Cultch's Youth Panel, May 6-11 at The Cultch, 1895 Venables St.; and the Cultch's Ignite! Mentorship Showcase, a combination of dance, music and spoken word, in the Cultch Lab, May 16-17 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $40/$10/$6/$2, visit tickets.thecultch.com.
LIKE all aspiring singer-songwriters, North Vancouver's Emma Daly just wants to be heard.
Lucky for her, she's one of the local youths who are not only being given that opportunity, but are being aided in the pursuit of their passion by some of today's greats, committed to helping their young charges find their voice.
Daly, 19, is among the participants in the Cultch's Songwriting Mentorship Program and since March has had an opportunity to work with artists Kathryn Calder, Aidan Knight and Giorgio Magnanensi, who wears a number of hats, including composer, conductor, teacher and experimental music performer.
The program culminates with a Mentorship Showcase, May 16-17, at the Cultch, part of Ignite! 2013: Vancouver's Youth-Driven Arts Festival, which gets underway Monday, May 6 and is offering a host of nightly performances in a variety of mediums, including showcases of music, dance and film, the world premiere of three one-act plays, a visual art exhibit, and variety shows featuring improv, drag and circus acts.
"It's just such a great outlet for young emerging artists who want to pursue a career in the arts," says Daly.
Daly, a Windsor House School graduate, came to music naturally and is primarily self-taught, after being inspired to take up guitar by her mother who could play and sing.
"I kind of stole her old guitar one day and taught myself some chords," she says.
Further inspired by her parents' diverse music collection, from age 13 on she's been honing her craft, including playing in the odd garage band here and there, and taking a few piano lessons from Hey Ocean! collaborator Andrew Rasmussen.
While she recalls writing her first song at age four, expressing her desire to one day live on a farm, she started putting pen to paper seriously at age 16 and has tackled issues like bullying, bipolar disorder, and love and lust in her previous works.
A staff member at Gymboree Play & Music North Vancouver, Daly works to instill a passion for music in young children, and is continuing to pursue a career in the music industry. She was a finalist in the People's Choice Competition in the recent edition of Variety's Got Talent, and has two EPs under her belt and plans to enter the studio to record a third shortly with an anticipated release in the next month or so.
This is her first time being part of Ignite! at the Cultch, and she feels like she's gained a new confidence regarding her future.
"This year, I was at a point where I was like, I know I want to do this for the rest of my life, but I don't know what the next step to take is. . . . Going into this, I had no idea it would be this amazing," she says.
The Cultch offers a number of programs for youth. In addition to songwriting, the Ignite! Mentorship Program offers one-on-one mentorship opportunities to those ages 13-24, interested in pursuing careers in dance, directing,
playwriting, spoken word, stage design and publicity.
The arts centre is also turned over annually to members of the Cultch's Ignite! Youth Panel, who are tasked with organizing and taking the stage in the week-long Ignite! festival. This year's is being held May 6-11.
In addition to offering insight into participants' particular craft, participation in the mentorship program also provides an opportunity for youth to learn about the business of art, for instance, things like publicity and grant writing, in an effort to help them take the next step in their careers.
"It's been such an eye-opening experience," says Daly.
Daly and her five songwriting program peers have been working with their mentors in both group workshop and one-on-one settings and she's learned an incredible amount from each, she says.
"Aidan Knight is someone I've looked up to for a really long time so it was really cool to work with him. That was just mind blowing," she says.
Magnanensi has helped her take some of her songs in a better direction and Calder has suggested she undertake a number of helpful songwriting exercises, shared inspirational resources and is continuing to offer input on her works in progress.
"She's just been really good with us," adds Daly. "She's been really hands-on and sounds like she genuinely cares about our careers and our futures and she's just a really soft-spoken, warm-hearted person so it's really cool to get advice from her. I also love what she does too. She's an amazing singer-songwriter."
Calder, reached earlier this week via email, has likewise enjoyed working with Daly.
"Emma is wonderful. She has a great sense of melody, lyrics and dynamics and accompanies them with interesting and thoughtful arrangements. I really love her songs, and I can't wait to hear her many amazing albums to come," she says.
Interested in coming on board as a means of giving back to the music community, Calder, a Victoria-based solo artist as well as a member of the New Pornographers, first got involved in the songwriting mentorship program in 2012.
"I loved it so much last year that I wanted to come back and do it again this year," she says.
Ultimately, what Calder has been trying to impart are some practical tools for getting through the ups and downs of creating something, and to encourage participants to think about finding their own songwriting voice.
"The two basic questions in songwriting are: What are you trying to say and how are you going to say it? These can actually be pretty hard to answer," she says.
Overall, Calder says she's been "enormously impressed" by the talent displayed by her charges. "I can't even believe it. These young up and comers are so talented, it's ridiculous," she says.
Daly is excited to take the stage for the Mentorship Showcase, which is bringing participants in the songwriting, dance and spoken word programs together.
"Over the next two weeks we're really going to be working our butts off to get this show amazing," she says, adding she expects there to be some solo performances, group collaborations, as well as inter-disciplinary works.
For her next EP, she plans to collaborate with some of the musicians she's met through her involvement in the Cultch and is scheduled to perform a show with fellow participant Ian Schram, May 11 at 7: 30 p.m. at Point Grey's Cuppa Joy Café.
"If you're blessed with some sort of gift, whether it be just the kind of person you are in general or if you're really inspiring to other people, I just think you should take advantage of it and I truly believe that if you're extremely passionate about something and driven, you can achieve it. . . . I just know that I'm meant to do this," she says.
For the full Ignite! 2013 festival schedule and lineup, visit igniteyouthfest.ca. For more information on the Cultch's youth programs, visit thecultch.com.
