Minus 20 Music

21/09/2023

There is a film crew on our street today filming a commercial at a neighbour's house. They are a nice bunch and very professional, but there are so many of them and so many trucks! Such a contrast from my music documentary with a crew and post production team of one. 🤣

23/06/2023

Just arrived at Emma Lake, which used to be home to a vibrant artist colony. Many famous artists and composers gave master classes here, including John Cage. The University of Regina plans to reopen the colony. The horseflies were so numerous and aggressive, it was scary getting out of the car.

11/06/2023

From the City of Bridges to the City of Lights, a documentary about my dear friend, the musician and composer Boyd Mcdonald, goes into high gear this month. I'm heading out west to Saskatoon to film his homecoming in the province where his remarkable musical odyssey began 90 years ago.

30/05/2023

When ever you embark on a creative project, it is always magical when the stars align for you, if only briefly. I had such a serendipitous moment on the weekend. While having a coffee at Heartwood, our favourite hangout in Owen Sound. my eyes strayed upon some old postcards. As luck would have it, they were from Saskatchewan, circa 1910-1920, which I bought and plan on using to help bring to life the parts of my Boyd McDonald documentary that take place during that era. Hope to find more vintage postcards when I am out West later in June.

FYI, Heartwood makes the best cappuccino in town, hands down.

12/02/2023

Thanks everyone for following Minus 20 Music and helping get the word out about the February 24th concert 'From the City of Bridged to the City of Lights: The Musical Odyssey of Boyd McDonald' Really appreciate it!

10/02/2023

Thanks Ella! 🙏🥰🙏

Over lunch one day at the local café of Boyd McDonald, the two of us came up with the idea of organizing a concert that would tell the fascinating life story of Boyd, one of Canada's finest composers. I am excited to relay that the 'From the City of Bridges to the City of Lights' concert is now a reality and will take place later this month at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener. I'll be filming the concert and it will form an integral part of the music documentary I am making about Boyd's life.

Boyd's story began on a farm in rural Saskatchewan 90 years ago. He entered two of his early compositions into a provincial contest organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Saskatchewan and he won. Boyd wisely used the prize money to study for the summer with Nadia Boulanger, one of the most influential figures in 20th century music. Boyd would return in the late 1950s to study with Boulanger for 3 years. She had a profound impact on his music, as did Darius Milhaud who used to host summer workshops in Aspen, Colorado.

The French Neo Classical Music scene had a profound impact on Boyd's music. The programme will include works by two key figures in this movement, Poulenc and Milhaud. You will also hear the prize-winning piano duet written in Saskatoon that kickstarted Boyd's career, which will performed by the composer and the pianist Carolyn Arnason. Last, but not least this is a rare opportunity to hear the music of Nadia Boulanger, which has not achieved the attention it deserves.

The concert will also celebrate the 100th birthday of Eli Bornstein, the celebrated Saskatoon-based artist, whose etching is featured in the concert poster. The two have been friends for over 70 years and got together in Paris on many occasions.

I hope to see you at the concert. If you can't make it, you'll be able to hear and see excerpts of the concert when I release the documentary.

10/02/2023

Over lunch one day at the local café of Boyd McDonald, the two of us came up with the idea of organizing a concert that would tell the fascinating life story of Boyd, one of Canada's finest composers. I am excited to relay that the 'From the City of Bridges to the City of Lights' concert is now a reality and will take place later this month at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener. I'll be filming the concert and it will form an integral part of the music documentary I am making about Boyd's life.

Boyd's story began on a farm in rural Saskatchewan 90 years ago. He entered two of his early compositions into a provincial contest organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Saskatchewan and he won. Boyd wisely used the prize money to study for the summer with Nadia Boulanger, one of the most influential figures in 20th century music. Boyd would return in the late 1950s to study with Boulanger for 3 years. She had a profound impact on his music, as did Darius Milhaud who used to host summer workshops in Aspen, Colorado.

The French Neo Classical Music scene had a profound impact on Boyd's music. The programme will include works by two key figures in this movement, Poulenc and Milhaud. You will also hear the prize-winning piano duet written in Saskatoon that kickstarted Boyd's career, which will performed by the composer and the pianist Carolyn Arnason. Last, but not least this is a rare opportunity to hear the music of Nadia Boulanger, which has not achieved the attention it deserves.

The concert will also celebrate the 100th birthday of Eli Bornstein, the celebrated Saskatoon-based artist, whose etching is featured in the concert poster. The two have been friends for over 70 years and got together in Paris on many occasions.

I hope to see you at the concert. If you can't make it, you'll be able to hear and see excerpts of the concert when I release the documentary.

10/02/2023

I filmed my first music documentary in London using an Arriflex 16 mm camera. Oops, now you know I was born in the age of the Dinosaurs.

I have to say, operating an old fashioned Arriflex or a Panavison Camera was a hell of a lot easier than learning how to find my way around the menu system of a modern full frame camera.

09/02/2023

When I was younger, I used to love listening to live recordings of classical music made by the CBC in small communities all across the country. The broadcasts helped create awareness not just about Canadian composers, musicians and festivals, but also about the rich and vibrant music scene in rural Canada. I've been told these broadcasts also helped boost attendance and interest in concerts and boosted tourism.

Due to short-sighted Federal budget cuts dating back 20 years or more, the CBC no longer has the funds or resources to send out sound engineers across Canada to record music. Today, in my own (very) small way, I am trying to fill this gap and carry on this great CBC tradition and record and share the magic of live concerts made by Canadian classical and jazz musicians. Stay tuned.

09/02/2023

Most of my friends today know me as an advertising Creative Director. What they don't know is that before I got into advertising, I studied film and audio recording in London and Paris and made music documentaries. Some of my work even aired on prime time television in Canada and Europe. A few years ago, tired of the rat race, I made the decision to go back to my roots and resume recording music and telling the stories of musicians and composers I admire.

09/02/2023

Minus 20 Music makes high quality recordings of acoustic genres of music for soloists and ensembles.

Using tried-and-true recording techniques and state-of the-art microphones, we realistically capture the artistic expression, tone and dynamics of the musician’s performance and the natural acoustics of venues.

We also have a series of exciting, multi-media, music projects in the works, ranging from documentaries to podcasts. Other services available include: videography and design work.

To learn more please visit www.minus20music.com