Algoma Conservatory Concerts - Jazz Series

presents

Carmen Spada - Jazz Piano

with Martin Virta - Bass and Dave Peredun - Percussion

Saturday March 23, 2024 - 7:30 pm - THE LOFT

Doors open a 6:45 pm - cash bar

Tickets: $35 - includes all fees

Ordering is now closed for the Tapas Plates (2 days prior to the event)

Tapas Plate from Rosetta at intermission - $15 - preorder only

This program will feature solo jazz piano with Carmen on the first half, followed by his Jazz Trio on the 2nd half.

TO PURCHASE: SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM, ADD THE NUMBER OF TICKETS TO THE SHOPPING CART, SCROLL TO THE TOP, AND CLICK ON THE SHOPPING CART TO CHECK OUT WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD. If you would like the tapas you will need to enter them separately to the shopping cart, after you add the tickets, before you check out.

Carmen Spada graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music, in Boston, MA, obtaining a dual major in Piano Performance and Jazz Composition. While at Berklee, he earned the Berklee Achievement Scholarship, was nominated for the Boston Jazz Society Scholarship, represented Berklee internationally as a Student Ambassador and was the recipient of the 2007 Herb Pomeroy Award for excellence in Jazz Composition.

Though firmly rooted in jazz and world music, Carmen has enjoyed pursuing and establishing his solo career in a unique jazz crossover to pop niche, due to his success as a songwriter. He won the 2010 Rose Theatre Singer/Songwriter competition in Brampton, ON for best original song and lyrics with "Why You Make Me Fall In Love With You", and was also awarded a creation grant from the Ontario Arts Council for his 2013 EP release, Buona Sera, featuring original songs and arrangements of Italian folk music for trio and sextet. His compositional style is currently focused on "contemporary standards": songs featuring the commercial appeal of jazz standards through form and lyrics, but with a deeper and contemporary approach to harmony and melody.

A highly respected educator, Carmen conducts various clinics and masterclasses at secondary schools in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as boasts successful in-person and live, online private teaching studios, with an emphasis on contemporary improvisation, harmony, composition, ear training and songwriting, as well as post-secondary music curriculum and audition preparation for prospective undergraduate students. He was proudly appointed Alumni Ambassador for Berklee College of Music in 2014, and assists the college with recruitment and outreach opportunities within various communities. Annually, Carmen is the featured adjudicator in the pop and jazz sections at the Davenport Festival of Music in Toronto, and previously resided as a Sessional Lecturer in jazz piano instruction at the University of Guelph.

In 2017, Carmen co-founded B-Jazzed, a non-for-profit organization curating performances, education series, and philanthropy of jazz music and its musicians, in the city of Brampton. Serving as its Artistic Director, Carmen has managed weekly performances in Brampton such as Joe's Jazz Jam, Jazz @ J. Red & Co., Dinner Jazz at the Brampton Golf Club, and Activate Downtown Brampton featuring more than 80 bands performing every summer in Downtown Brampton. In participation with the Brampton Library, Carmen programmed the BL Studio Series, a monthly education series teaching audio engineering techniques free of charge at the Chinguacousy Branch recording studio, as well as a weekly improvisation and composition clinic at the Four Corners Branch. In co-production with the Rose Theatre, he curates Sessions @ Studio 2, a monthly concert series featuring some of Canada's best jazz musicians. B-Jazzed is now recognized as the largest curator of live music in the city of Brampton. Most importantly, however, Carmen created and programs the annual World of Jazz Festival in Downtown Brampton, a two-day festival boasting two stages and over 120 musicians highlighting the diversity and multicultural interpretations of jazz music. The City of Brampton recognized Carmen's work with B-Jazzed with an Arts Acclaim Citizens Award in both 2018 & 2020, and the World of Jazz Festival was recognized as one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals in 2022 by Festivals & Events Ontario.

Carmen Spada information:

www.carmenspada.com

https://www.facebook.com/CarmenSpada/

www.instagram.com/carmen.spada