JOANNA CHAPMAN-SMITH (BA)
Joanna Chapman-Smith has worked as a professional musician consistently since graduating from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, CAN in 2006. She is carving herself a place in the singer-songwriter circuit both in North America and in Europe, and has recorded three full length albums of original material. Her second – ‘Contraries’ – saw her profiled on NPR in the USA in 2010, and her third ‘Love Me Deeply’ is set for release in 2012. Joanna has worked with artists including Sarah MacDougall and C R Avery and enjoys professional representation in most major European territories. She is also an experienced dance accompanist, improviser and theatre musician.
Joanna is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer and performer with a flair for collaborations and boundary-crossing artistic work. With training in theatre, dance and musical techniques ranging from African percussion and Javanese gamelan to traditional voice work and composition, her work is unique and vast in scope. She has been delivering vocal workshops at Arts Centers, Festivals and Camps in Canada and the United States since 2006, was the Musical Director of the Youth Gamelan Group for the Indonesian Consulate in Vancouver (2007) and was a Vocal Coach for the Canadian Education Association in 2006. She currently offers the standard workshops on the following pages, but is happy to consider requests for other specific topics or individual one-off lessons, and is happy to tailor her teaching style for children.
Testimonial for Joanna Chapman-Smith:
“Her voice exudes a warmth, charm and occasional vulnerability that easily brings you under her spell.” – Bluesbunny, 5/5
“Chapman-Smith has a supple and finely-nuanced voice and writes with the ear of a poet. She rises above the herd of folkie singer-songwriters, her musical self-portrait painted with an unusually large palette of moods and colours.” – Tony Montage, The Georgia Straight
“Exceptional… a creative and skilled vocalist.” – Danny Zwerdling, National Public Radio (USA)
“Jazzy, soulful vocals – a summertime porch lullaby.” – Rob McMahon, Metro
“An absolute joy to listen to whatever your mood. In Joanna Chapman-Smith we have finally found a female singer-songwriter who has broken the mould.” – Malcolm Carter, Penny Black Music
“The slinky-voiced Canadian whose arch acoustic musings and fondness for the accordion come laced with a hint of Parisian cafes and East European Klezmer music.” - Q
KATHERYN PETERSEN
As a professional accordionist Katheryn Petersen is a contemporary game changer. She has developed fluency with the instrument, particularly with jazz harmonics and soloing that is unique. She enjoys and has studied traditional forms on the accordion including Tango, Roma, Blues, Classical, Americana music and more, but she has also devoted countless hours to developing and mastering a useable system for playing jazz chords in both hands. She has worked as a session player for Babe Gurr, Morgan Finlay, Kris Mitchell, Joe Burke, Meshe, Marty Ferguson, Blake McAndless & Burcu Ozdemir. She also enjoys teaching a range of students and is an active board member of the Accordion Noir Society of Vancouver.
As a teacher she respects and encourages her students to find their own way of relating to the instrument, while still passing along the priceless fundamentals that she learned while studying full time for three years with Croatian classical virtuoso Jelena Milojevic. As a teacher, player and yogi, Katheryn is fascinated by the importance of body and mind awareness in the process of creating music. She currently offers the standard workshops on the following pages, but is happy to consider requests for other specific topics or individual one-off lessons.
Testimonial for Katheryn Petersen:
“It is difficult to get away with doing something different on the accordion, but every time you see her she is breaking in a different ‘different’.” - Rowan Lipkovitz, Accordion Noir Festival, Vancouver
“Her cohesive act included the visual aspect of her costume and engaged the audience with a wide variety of music, maintaining a nostalgic and magical mood well suited to the tone of the event. I, as event organizer, as well as the audience, enjoyed her act immensely.” - Susan Marczak, Eastside Culture Crawl Organizer
“Her professionalism was valued and she brought a special touch to the material that gave it real life for the audiences. The flair she brings to her performances, both through costume and presence, are a great asset to have on board.” - Joanna Chapman-Smith
“My favorite performer of the evening.” - Penelope Mulligan, Discorder
MAT MARTIN (BA, MPhil, PhD)
Mat Martin has earned a reputation both in the UK and on the European mainland as an understated and sensitive accompanist through his work both live and in the studio. He has made many appearances alongside artists including Kirsty McGee, Joanna Chapman-Smith, Karine Polwart, Boo Hewerdine and The Brute Chorus. His adoption of unusual instruments, such as tenor guitar, fretless banjo and cigar box reflects his interest in experimenting with sounds and textures in accompaniment. He is a composer of experimental music, having had pieces performed internationally, including at the London Jazz Festival. He also works with songwriters as a studio and pre-producer.
Mat is an official endorsee of Deering Banjos, Shubb Capos and Rotosound Strings, and recently published his first book on clawhammer banjo, available in print or electronic forms from matmartin.co.uk. He holds a BA from Rose Bruford College, London, UK in Music Technology, and an MPhil/PhD in Music from Dartington College of Arts, UK. He currently offers the standard workshops on the following pages for adults, but is happy to consider requests for other specific topics or individual one-off lessons.
Testimonial for Mat Martin’s Playing and Teaching:
“Very cool playing – the Chet Atkins of the banjo.” – Neill MacColl
“Mat Martin has a pure, uninhibited and playful musicality that makes him a pleasure to work with. His versatility across many different instruments and styles, tempered with humility, gives his playing a passionate and inspiring fluidity that is remarked upon by fellow musicians and audiences wherever he plays.” – Kirsty McGee
“Perfect understatement – not an extraneous word or note.” – Karine Polwart, on Mat Martin & Kirsty McGee
“Mat Martin is a magnetic performer, and a magnetic personality. Every break; every riff; every run; every note, and every rest perfectly timed, tastefully chosen, and masterfully executed. Like a master cat burglar, he steals in for just as long as it takes and out quicker than you can catch him. The only difference is that he has put the jewels back in!” – Kreg Viesselman
“Mat Martin has played banjo for us live on stage and in the studio. His presence both physically and musically is always a welcome addition to anything we’re doing. His playing is as incisive as it is insightful.” – James Steel, The Brute Chorus
“Mat is first and foremost a professional musician. This is his trade and he is a master of the form. What differentiates Mat from many other musicians and teachers is his holistic approach to teaching and his philosophy of learning an instrument. He teaches from the person out, rather than the more external technicalities of an instrument.” - Stephen Allen, Student
