One of my life’s joys is to bring youth together to create inspiring events and performances. I believe it is never too early to start performing and sharing the excitement of music making. Even in the early stages of becoming a musician, performances are essential for students to have goals that encourage their studies. As we study music, there is a tendency to spend most of our time preparing for our performances by perfecting our technique, which is extremely important. We rarely spend any time working on what is most essential when you finally step on a stage – the skills to deliver an engaging performance.
One of the significant messages to developing performers that I encourage is the importance of:
Having some experience in these areas is increasingly imperative in our interconnected world.
Dean Marshall has served as composer, arranger, music director for many groups and productions including the professional string group – Barrage (over 2000 performances in 27 different countries). He has produced and arranged music for large corporate events all over the world: Nascar, GM, Bristol Myers, Panasonic, Toyota, Sanyo, Toshiba, IBM, KPMG, UBS, and Disney. He has also produced music for independent video projects, television specials for CBC and PBS.
University of Toronto – BA, Violin Performance, Minor Music Theory, 1986 – 88
Studied with David Zafer and Steven Staryk
University of Toronto – Zafer Chamber Strings, Toronto, David Zafer conductor, 1986 – 88
Mount Royal Conservatory Academy & Advanced Performance Program – Calgary, Graduate, 1986
Mount Royal Conservatory – Studied Violin with Joan Barrett, Calgary, 1978-86
Master Classes with William Primrose, Yehudi Menuhin, Mauricio Fuks, Miriam Fried, Donald McInnes,
David Zafer, 1978 – 86
Mount Royal College Conservatory – Violin Performance Diploma & AMRC, 1985
Royal Conservatory of Toronto – ARCT, 1985
MRC Academy Program – Calgary Mentorship Orchestral Arranging with Richard Hayman
(Boston Pops Orchestra Director), 1984
Studied conducting & musicianship with Arpad Joó (Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Director), 1982
Calgary Youth Orchestra – Frank Simpson and John Thompson conductors, 1980 – 86
Rotary International Integrity Award for Music Education in the Calgary Community and International Outreach – District 5360, 2004
