All photos by Jamie Quaile unless otherwise specified
A Message from the President of SOCAN
Welcome to our Board of Directors page, designed to allow SOCAN members to get to know the people who represent their best interests as fellow songwriters, composers and music publishers. Here, SOCAN members can learn who their directors are; find out what they have to say (in their "Director's Corner" columns); see what they've accomplished in the past year (through various reports); and reach them via e-mail. I invite you to explore and discover who we are and what we're doing for you.
– Earl Rosen
SOCAN members can log in to view the
President's Report
or the
Committee Reports
from our 2010 Annual General Meeting (AGM).
To send a message to the board, or to any of the individual directors,
the e-mail address is boardofdirectors@socan.ca.
The SOCAN Board of Directors consists of the following composers and songwriters:
| Victor Davies | |
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Composer, pianist and conductor Victor Davies studied at the University of Manitoba and Indiana University, graduating with a degree in composition. He later studied conducting with Pierre Boulez. Davies has written scores for dramas and documentaries in a variety of styles for CBC, NFB, CTV, Global, and many independent producers including scores for the international award-winning films The Last Winter (Fox Video), The Nutcracker Prince (Warner Bros. with the London Symphony Orchestra) and For the Moment (20th Century Fox with musicians of the Czech Philharmonic). He also composed and performed with his own “third stream” jazz group and was commissioned to write the first major score for a planetarium production, The Beginning and End of the World, recorded with conductor Skitch Henderson. Davies’ best-known work, The Mennonite Piano Concerto, was commissioned by the Fast Foundation and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. |
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| Bill Henderson | |
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As a songwriter, composer of scores for television and theatre; singer, guitarist and record producer; winner of Juno, Genie, SOCAN, and other music awards; member of the musical groups Chilliwack and UHF; and as a board member of SOCAN for the last 20 years, Bill Henderson has brought a broad view of the music industry and a detailed view of writers’ concerns to SOCAN. During his time at SOCAN, Bill has helped create fairer distribution rules, helped shepherd major concerns of members through to favorable outcomes, and generally worked towards the establishment of clearer lines of communication both within SOCAN as a business operation and between the organization, its members, the music industry and the public. Making the most of opportunities for SOCAN’s membership in the evolving digital environment will continue to be Bill’s main focus for the coming term. |
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| Stan Meissner | |
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Multi-faceted songwriter-composer Stan Meissner's career includes hits internationally as well as in both English and French Canada. Meissner has been a staff songwriter for more than 25 years, under contracts with BMG Music Publishing, Warner-Chappell Music and Irving-Almo/Universal Music, and has written for many international acts including Céline Dion, Lara Fabian, LeeAnn Womack, Eddie Money, Farmer's Daughter, Ricochet, Rita Coolidge, BJ Thomas, Darby Mills and Lee Aaron. As a recording artist, he released three solo albums on A&M and Duke Street/Universal, garnering several top-10 hits in Canada, including “One Chance” and “River Of Fire”.
Meissner has also written music for many TV shows and films, including A&E's Biography, Berenstain Bears, Timothy Goes To School, Hang Time, Cottage Life, Missing Children, Lighten Up and Sweating Bullets/Tropical Heat, as well as contributing songs and source music to Beverly Hills 90210, Forever Knight, My Secret Identity, Friday the 13th-The Series and Friday the 13th Parts VII & VIII. Stan's work has earned him numerous gold and multi-platinum records, as well as a Gemini Award, British Columbia Country Music Association Songwriter of the Year Award, two JUNO nominations, a Canadian Music Publishers Association Award, a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award and a number of SOCAN airplay awards. As treasurer of SOCAN (2003-2009), president of the SOCAN Foundation (2006-2012), president of the Songwriters Association of Canada (2000-2006) and a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2000-2006), Stan has been very active in the songwriting community, working as a tireless advocate to further a more positive environment for creators in Canada and around the world. Read Stan's "Director's Corner" column |
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| Ben Mink | |
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Ben Mink's work represents a career that has left its varied stylistic mark on countless albums, Grammy and Juno Awards, annals, films and television programs. As a producer, songwriter and instrumentalist, he has recorded for hundreds of artists in every conceivable genre, including Rush, k.d. lang, Feist, Barenaked Ladies, Anne Murray, FM, Raffi, Daniel Lanois, Bruce Cockburn, Wynonna Judd, Heart, Alison Krauss, Elton John, Roy Orbison and dozens of others. Ben has won and been nominated for a number of prestigious awards, including two Grammy nominations in 1989 for Absolute Torch and Twang (written with k.d. lang) and five Grammy nominations in 1993, including one for the song “Constant Craving,” which he co-wrote and produced with lang, for Best Female Pop Performance. Ben has also won five Juno awards as well as SOCAN’s Wm. Harold Moon Award for international recognition. In 2008, “Constant Craving” received a SOCAN Classic Award.
Most recently, he co-produced Feist’s Grammy-nominated “1234.” He has also contributed extensively to film and television, winning a 2006 LEO Award for Best Score in a Dramatic Series (together with Schaun Tozer) for Sundance Channel’s Terminal City, and a 2007 Gemini for Confessions of an Innocent Man (Best Biography Documentary). In 2008, he scored the Ben Kingsley feature 50 Dead Men Walking, which will be released in theatres worldwide in the spring of 2009. Ben has lectured on such topics as “The Music Business vs. the Creative Process,” at the University of British Columbia, University of Western Washington and Simon Fraser University. He has also worked with students as an associate of UBC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (robotics) and is an associate member of the Institute for Computing, Information & Cognitive Systems. In 2006 Ben delivered the introductory speech for k.d. lang’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Award induction at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. |
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| Glenn Morley | |
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Glenn Morley is a Toronto-based composer, conductor, and musical director with an extensive background in music for theatrical, live events, concert, television, and film media. With credits for more than 2,000 television episodes, he has won three Gemini Awards. His compositions are heard in numerous programs: The Nature of Things, Royal Canadian Air Farce, Freaky Stories, Man Alive, Country Canada, Frontiers of Construction, Meeting Place, Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, and Twice In A Lifetime.
Morley was music supervisor for ABC/Disney's The Music Man and Martin & Lewis (Emmy nomination), and garnered a Genie nomination for his score for Red Green’s Duct Tape Forever. He produced and orchestrated Canto, Gino Vannelli's acclaimed crossover CD, Alfie Zappacosta’s CD Start Again and a number of tracks for Take Three and Ali Slaight. He has functioned as composer/musical director for more than 80 stage productions in both Canada and abroad, including the Stratford, Shaw and Blythe Festivals, and the Manitoba Theatre Centre. He created the score and sound design for the spectacular Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill and was the musical director for the recent re-opening ceremonies for Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, and musical director/producer of The Canadian Songbook for the same city’s Luminato Festival. Morley has had his works performed by orchestras across Canada (Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra.) He frequently conducts/produces recordings for other composers (Henry Mancini, Louis Applebaum, John Welsman, Neil Smolar, etc.). He is a founding member and past president of the Guild of Canadian Film Composers (GCFC) and has also served as a member of SOCAN’s Tariff and Distribution Committee, as well as an expert witness representing SOCAN members in Copyright Board hearings regarding television and cable tariffs. He is currently the president of the Glenn Gould Foundation. |
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| Marc Ouellette | |
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After receiving a music composition degree from McGill University, Marc underwent further training with Hermann Max in Switzerland and in Italy at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana with Ennio Morricone, from which he received an original film music award in 1995.
Dividing his time between composing, producing and conducting in both the classical and pop music fields, Marc is a former winner of a SOCAN composition award, and was nominated for Gemini and ADISQ awards in 2005 and 2008. His first television music exposure came as a result of his work as an assistant composer for Paul Baillargeon on the Deep Space Nine and Voyager episodes of the Star Trek series. Marc has since written music for several independent circus numbers, about 100 children’s television programs and a dozen films, including Yves Simoneau’s Napoléon series. As an arranger, producer and conductor, he has contributed to concerts and recordings featuring such diverse artists and groups as Isabelle Boulay, Pierre Lapointe, Roch Voisine, The Tea Party, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and many others. Marc is now completing a score for a multidisciplinary show for Sea World San Antonio (Texas) as well as the orchestration of his oratorio for three choirs and symphony orchestra. Marc was a board member of the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC) from 2000 to 2006, and was its president in 2006. He was also a board member of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) and has been a board member, since 2000, of the Société professionnelle des auteurs et compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ), including two years as president from 2002 to 2004. As a representative from SODRAC, Marc has been working for the past two years on the creation of the Music Service Bureau (MSB), an organization established jointly by Canada’s three music rights organizations. Read Marc's "Director's Corner" column |
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| Pierre-Daniel Rheault | |
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In 1980, after working for six years in radio, sound recording and as a teacher, Pierre-Daniel Rheault embarked on a composer/arranger career focusing on the film and television markets. A graduate of two of Canada’s leading music teaching institutions, the Vincent d’Indy School of Music and the McGill University Faculty of Music, he has since written scores for more than 325 television programs, several youth albums (Les amis de Gilda la girafe), three feature films, over 250 CBC radio dramas, five universal exhibitions, and more than 40 national or regional exhibitions (audiovisual contents). In 1994 and 1997, he received the SOCAN International Film and Television Composer of the Year Award. Since January 2008, he has been co-ordinator of the new Master’s degree in Applied Music program for the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Music. Besides his administrative and teaching responsibilities, he also teaches three commissioned music seminars. A recent guest lecturer at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, he regularly takes part in professional training activities in his capacities as coach, lecturer or mentor. In 1996, he joined the Guild of Canadian Film Composers, serving since then as a member of its board. A SPACQ member, Pierre-Daniel Rheault has served as president of that organization for two years. In June 2006, he was elected president of the SOCAN board for a three-year term. |
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| Gilles Valiquette | |
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Gilles Valiquette is a singer-songwriter who has enjoyed a successful career in French Canada for more than 35 years. In the past 12 months, he has released a new album (Secrètement public), a book (Histoires de chansons) and a box set of his first recordings (Les 9 premiers) while producing Patrick Norman’s most recent album (Plaisirs de Noël), hosting a weekly Radio Boomer 1570 show and performing in various Quebec locations. With 14 albums to his credit, five BMI/PROCAN Certificates of Honour and five SOCAN Awards for the success of his songs "Quelle belle journée," "Je suis cool," "La vie en rose," "Samedi soir" and "Mets un peu de soleil dans notre vie," Gilles Valiquette is the founder of the Musitechnic College and creator of the Quebec Ministry of Education approved "Computer Assisted Sound Design" college education program (MEQ 901.24). Gilles Valiquette is a current member of the SOCAN board of directors, serving two terms as president from 1998 to 2003. Over the years, he has been a board member of the Société professionnelle des auteurs et compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ), the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC), Alliance numériQC, the Association des écoles supérieures d’art de Montréal (ADÉSAM) and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC). He is also president of Fondation MaxFACT, an organization assisting the production of music videos by Canadian performers. Read Gilles' "Director's Corner" column |
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| Jim Vallance | |
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A Canadian performing rights member since 1972, songwriter Jim Vallance has worked with recording artists as diverse as Bryan Adams, Hedley, Anne Murray, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Heart, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Anka, Neil Diamond, Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Cocker, and many more. He has served as a director for SOCAN, PROCAN and FACTOR, and he is currently a director for the Songwriters Association of Canada and a member of the Guild of Canadian Film Composers. Citations of achievement include SOCAN’s top honour, the Wm. Harold Moon Award, multiple Juno Awards, SOCAN Classic Awards, ASCAP and BMI Awards, dozens of international Gold and Platinum albums, and the Order of Canada. |
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And the following publishers:
| Rosaire Archambault (Éditorial Avenue) | |
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Rosaire Archambault is the president of Éditorial Avenue, a company that has been active in the Canadian music publishing industry for many years. As a publisher, Editorial Avenue represents a large catalogue of mostly Quebec works and acts as an administrator and a sub-publisher for a host of other repertoires. Rosaire Archambault has been a SOCAN board member from the organization's creation. Photo: Michel Gagné |
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| Geneviève Côté (Frilance Édition Inc.) | |
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A lawyer and music aficionado, Geneviève Côté has been active in the cultural industry since 1998. After putting together Productions J’s Business & Legal Affairs department, Geneviève went on to work for APFTQ (Quebec Film and Television Producers Association), Just for Laughs and Zone3, and finally joined Diffusion YFB’s team in 2002. At Diffusion YFB, Geneviève worked as executive producer for video-clips and for all in-house artists’ tours. She also worked as artistic coordinator to Quebec megastar Eric Lapointe for two full years before starting Frilance Édition in 2003.
For nearly five years, Geneviève has divided her time between management (Ian Kelly and Jon Day) and publishing (Ian Kelly, Jean-Frédéric Messier, Marc-André Chabot). As a publisher, she orchestrated collaborations between her composers and notorious lyricists, including Luc Plamondon and Patrice Guirao with the Grand Brothers and Frédérick Baron with composer Marc Ouellette. Frilance Édition represents songwriters active in the record industry and composers who work in the audio-visual field and music for the stage. Geneviève is a member of the Quebec Bar. She is also a board member of SODRAC and president of its Publishers’ Commission. As well, she sits on the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) Board of Directors. Frilance Musique is a member of CIRPA, MMF Canada, PMPA, SOPREF, SOCAN and SODRAC. Read Geneviève's "Director's Corner" column |
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| Jodie Ferneyhough | |
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Jodie Ferneyhough worked for Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) Canada from 2001 to November 2010, the last two years as managing director. Jodie was responsible for the amalgamation of BMG Music Publishing Canada to UMPG Canada. While at Universal Music Publishing Group, he was instrumental in the careers of Sam Roberts, K-OS, Mobile, Hedley and most recently Saint Alvia, and also worked with established Canadian superstars Tom Cochrane, Jann Arden, Shania Twain, Daniel Lavoie and Avril Lavigne, among others. His artists had also been nominated for or had received awards from the Juno Awards, East Coast Music Awards, SOCAN Awards, Country Music Awards, Much Music Video Awards and the Grammy Awards. Jodie is president of the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), where he is active in lobbying, copyright reform and media relations. He also sits on the Board of Directors of SOCAN and CMRRA. He was named Canadian Music Publisher of the Year three out of four years at the annual CCMA awards, as well as Publisher of the Year at the annual CMW Industry Awards. |
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| Gary Furniss (Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada) | |
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Gary Furniss, president of Sony/ATV Publishing in Canada, has been responsible for the development and growth of the company since 1993 and has been instrumental in bringing Sony/ATV’s domestic writers to international recognition. The roster comprises many great Canadian writers, including Chantal Kreviazuk, Raine Maida, Our Lady Peace, The Philosopher Kings, K’Naan, LIGHTS, USS, Anjulie, David Martin, Tawgs Salter, Jon Levine, James Bryan, Marc Jordan, Rob Wells, Jeremy Fisher, Murray McLauchlan and Tom Wilson, many of whom are recipients of gold, platinum and other music industry awards. Furniss is currently a director of both SOCAN (second term) and CMPA, and is chairperson of the CMRRA board. Past positions include director of CARAS and CSHF and executive editor of Music Publisher Canada. Furniss contributed to the development of the JUNO Songwriters’ Circle – a very special Canadian songwriters’ highlight presented on JUNO weekend. Sony/ATV represents many international song catalogues, including those of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Randy Bachman, The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Famous Music, Leiber and Stoller, Acuff-Rose, Shaftesbury Films and Alliance Atlantis. |
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| Craig Horton (Nettwerk Music Publishing) | |
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Craig Horton works in Vancouver for the Nettwerk Music Group as director of business affairs and royalty administration, where he oversees day-to-day publishing duties for Nettwerk songwriters and sub-publishers, manages licensing for the Nettwerk labels and provides music publishing assistance for Nettwerk-managed artists including Sarah McLachlan, K-OS and the Barenaked Ladies. He moved from Ontario to Vancouver in 1983 after being hired by PROCAN to work in member services in their West Coast office. Horton Music Publishing was established in 1987, providing administration and publishing consulting services for a host of clients such as k.d. lang, Colin James, Blue Shadows, Strange Advance and Randy Bachman. In early 2004 Craig was approached by Mark Jowett of Nettwerk to join the Nettwerk family and assist with their publishing division. He has most recently worked with the Nettwerk partners in the establishment and growth of Nettwerk One Music, representing the EA (Electronic Arts) catalogue, MF DOOM, Johnny Reid, 10,000 Maniacs, Sinead O’Connor, Airbourne, Datarock and Chromeo, among others. Craig has been a SOCAN board member since 2006 and sits on the board of the SOCAN Foundation as well as the board of the CMRRA. |
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| Michael McCarty (ole) | |
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Michael McCarty is President of ole and, via the company’s head office in Toronto, oversees all creative and administrative operations in Nashville and Los Angeles, as well as Toronto. He brings over 20 years in the music publishing business, most recently as President of EMI Music Publishing Canada. His previous experience includes periods as Creative Director of EMI Publishing L.A.; A&R Director of SBK Records and Publishing L.A.; Creative Manager of CBS/SBK Songs Canada; and Creative Manager at ATV Music Group Canada. After graduating from the Fanshawe College Music Industry Arts program in London, Ontario, Mike began his career as a recording engineer/producer, working with legendary Canadian record producers Jack Richardson and Bob Ezrin. He has played a key role in the development of the careers of such artists/songwriters as Sum 41, Wilson-Phillips, Billy Talent, Three Days Grace, Gavin Brown, Esthero, as well as Matthew Good, City and Colour and Alexisonfire. McCarty is a member of the Board of Directors of SOCAN, the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), and past director for the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA), as well as a founding director of the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. He is also a past nominee for The Premier’s award, which recognizes outstanding contributions community college graduates make to their communities and the province of Ontario. |
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| Earl Rosen (de Sade Songs) (President) | |
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Earl Rosen has served on the SOCAN board of directors for nine years, including three as president and the most recent three as a member of the Executive/Governance Committee as well as Chairman of the Risk Identification and Management Committee. Among his proudest achievements was SOCAN’s recognition with the Conference Board of Canada National Governance Award in 2007 for governance achievements (during his presidency), representing external recognition of the work of the SOCAN board of directors to ensure the highest degree of responsibility and accountability to SOCAN members. For the past three years, Earl has also been a board member and treasurer of the SOCAN Foundation. Earl has been in the music business for 30 years, as owner of the classical and jazz record label Marquis Classics and new classical publishing company de Sade Songs, both recognized among Canada’s leading companies in their music field. Marquis continues to release more recordings by Canadian contemporary composers than any other private Canadian company. Earl is also a successful producer of music television programs. Earl was the founding executive director of both FACTOR and VideoFACT, and served the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA) as both its executive director, and, later, as chairman. In all these roles he worked to achieve recognition and support for Canadian creators from all levels of government. He also served on the board of directors of CARAS for six years, and on the board of governors of Centennial College in Toronto. Read Earl's current "President's Message" column |
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| Carol Ryan (Créations Méandres Inc.) | |
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Carol Ryan started her music business career at PolyGram in the late 1970s. In 1980, she joined PROCAN, now known as SOCAN (after the merger with CAPAC), where she worked with publisher members in the Montreal office for more than 10 years. She then went to work on the producer’s side, and joined an independent record label in Quebec as production manager. Finally, in 1995, she ran away with the circus and was appointed head of Cirque du Soleil’s music publishing arm, Créations Méandres. Over the last 14 years, she has set up the team and infrastructure required for the copyright management of one of Canada’s most active cultural undertakings. Thanks to Cirque du Soleil’s extensive international dealings and its diversified activities, Carol has continued developing her knowledge of copyright and has become very familiar with the workings of many European and Asian copyright collectives. In 2005-2006, she was also interim general manager of Cirque du Soleil Musique, the record label created by Cirque. Since 2007, she is director of intellectual property management. Carol is a director of the SOCAN Foundation and a founding member of PMPA (Professional Music Publishers Association), where she is also a director, and a member of ALAI and AJAVA. |
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| Tony Tobias (Pangaea Media & Music Inc.) | |
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Tony Tobias has been working in the cultural industries in Canada for more than 35 years, spanning the fields of music and media rights management, artist management, and the writing and producing of music videos, film, television and interactive media. He is a consultant to independent creators, media production companies and cultural organizations, providing creative business, international marketing and transmedia strategies, rights clearances and licensing. Tony is an award-winning documentary film and interactive media producer. He is a regular speaker on the impact of new technology on cultural industries; cultural training; music publishing; copyright; and cultural economics. Tony is considered a Canadian pioneer in new media production.
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