Ready for something uplifting?
Join us for NLC’S spring program.
In NLC’s new series, our terrific speakers will explore the “magic of music” from different perspectives: how it adds beauty and meaning to our lives; harnesses advanced technology and our most basic human instincts; brings us together; supports brain health; sparks social change – and it’s big business too!
You won’t want to miss a single event.
Tickets for Thursday evenings include access to video recording.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Who loads the canon? Why we remember some music and forget the rest.
Storyteller, concert host, author, musician and broadcaster Tom Allen asks “How does a piece of music become anointed as eternally beautiful? Is it possible for music to achieve immortal recognition, and then lose it? Who makes these decisions and why?”
Tom Allen was born in Montreal. He worked as a bass trombonist in New York City, toured with the Great Lakes Brass and began working for the CBC on his 30th birthday, a very long time ago. He has written books, created and hosted countless shows for theatre companies and orchestras, and toured a series of chamber musicals with his beloved, the harpist Lori Gemmell. Tom was named an honorary Doctor of Music by Brandon University. His latest book, created with illustrator Ian Bell, is the Classical Musick Almanack.
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 7:30 PM
VICTORIA HALL, COBOURG
AI in music: Disruptor or revolution?
Gregory Lee Newsome is a composer and an Associate Professor in the Music Technology & Digital Media program of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. He will discuss the use of AI in creating music, and explore whether it’s just another disruptive technology or truly revolutionary. Gregory will demonstrate for us, in real time, how AI music is created.
After receiving his Master of Music in Composition from the University of British Columbia, Gregory continued his studies abroad with renowned international musicians. His computer-assisted music, described as “an incredibly intricate and hypnotic web of sound, texture, and rhythm,” has been performed and broadcast in North America and Europe.
THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 7:30 PM
COLUMBUS CENTRE, COBOURG
Canada’s guitar: Six String Nation
In this unique presentation, musician and passionate Canadian Jowi Taylor presents the inspiring and affirming story of a guitar named Voyageur. It has travelled over three hundred thousand kilometers, and been played by hundreds of musicians including Feist and Gordon Lightfoot. But this guitar is an instrument unlike any in the world. It’s literally a piece of Canadian history…. or 64 pieces of history, to be exact.
The materials from which Voyageur is constructed were contributed from different cultures, communities and characters that, together, tell the story of a multi-cultural Canada; offering a vision of Canada that is at once local and national in an object that is both an artifact and a living, breathing instrument.
THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 7:30 PM
COLUMBUS CENTRE, COBOURG
The facts behind the magic: How we evolved to respond
When an early hominid in what is now Southern Germany created music out of a bird bone flute 43,000 years ago, it seemed like magic. We still feel that magic today. Northumberland resident, musician and author Mary Lee will unpack the facts behind the magic.
Many of you will know Mary from her Opera Talks given at the Capitol Theater before the “Saturday Afternoon at the Met” screenings. Mary has since written two books about music: The Musical Ape and The Melody Lingers On. Drawing on her years of practical experience and musical research, she will show us how the magic of music is a uniquely human experience.
FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2:00 PM
COBOURG PUBLIC LIBRARY
You don’t have to be a musician: How everyday music-making supports healthy aging
Frank A. Russo, a Professor of Psychology and Media Design Innovation at Toronto Metropolitan University, will explain how recreational music participation offers an accessible and engaging pathway to healthy aging. Active involvement in music has been shown to enhance auditory processing, strengthen attentional control, and improve speech perception in noise—a persistent challenge for older adults, especially those with age-related hearing loss.
In this talk, he will highlight findings demonstrating that group singing, even among individuals with no prior musical training, can lead to measurable benefits over relatively short periods of participation.
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 7:30 PM
COLUMBUS CENTRE, COBOURG
Songs of protest: Music for change
Alan Cross is an internationally known Canadian broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. He has interviewed the biggest names in rock, and his program The Ongoing History of New Music is Canada’s longest running radio documentary.
Most people identify protest music with the rock’n’roll era, especially the 1960s. However, we’ve been using music to expose injustice and to demand change for centuries. Alan will lead us through the fascinating history of music and social change.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 7:30 PM
COLUMBUS CENTRE, COBOURG
From Abbey Road to Algorithms: The Evolution of the Music Business
Currently serving as chancellor of Trent University, Stephen Stohn is a founding partner in an entertainment law firm and longtime executive producer of the television franchise Degrassi. His talk will explore the business of music —beginning in the era of the Beatles, when artists were signed to opaque contracts and routinely gave up ownership of their songs.
What followed was the evolution of music rights, industry power structures, and business practices across every major technological shift: vinyl, radio, cassette, CD, MTV, digital downloads, streaming, and now AI. Stephen will discuss how new platforms are monetized, and the emerging questions of authorship and ownership in a world where music can be generated, remixed and distributed instantly. (See our March 26th event on AI and music!)
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 7:30 PM
COLUMBUS CENTRE, COBOURG
WHAT IS NORTHUMBERLAND LEARNING CONNECTION?
NLC has been bringing great speakers to Cobourg and Port Hope Ontario since 2005.
VISIT PAST PROGRAMS TO LEARN MORE.
