Nominations being accepted for Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award

Rainbow District School Board is currently accepting nominations for the Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award. The award honours Joan Mantle’s positive impact on music and music education within Rainbow District School Board and the broader community.

If you know someone who shares Joan Mantle’s passion for music education for all ages, has had a positive impact on music in the community, promotes lifelong music education and serves as an inspiration to others through their musical contributions and accomplishments in the community, consider nominating them for the Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award.

Individuals or organizations from the community served by the Board who have had a significant impact on music and/or music education at the elementary, secondary, postsecondary and/or community levels are eligible.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, January 17, 2020.

For more information, including a nomination form, visit rainbowschools.ca and click on “community”.

Click here: https://www.rainbowschools.ca/community/joan-mantle-music-trust/

The award will be presented at the International Dinner in support of the Trust on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 6 pm at the ParkSide Centre in Sudbury.

Honour Roll

Sylvia Carscadden, founder and director of the Kampana Bells, was the inaugural recipient of the award in 2014. She said music teachers don’t always realize the tremendous impact they have on a person’s life. “Music teachers provided experiences and opportunities that formed my appreciation of quality and the discipline of excellence. But most importantly, they made an extra effort to share what they loved. It has had a lasting impact on my life and I am truly honoured to receive this wonderful award.”

Long-time educator and musical performer Peter Schneider was selected as the (posthumous) recipient of the 2015 Award. Carolyn Otto, a former member of the Sudbury Secondary School Music Department, had the pleasure of working with Peter Schneider in various community bands for more than 25 years. She witnessed the positive impact he had on individual musicians and the cultural vitality of the City of Greater Sudbury. “Peter was the consummate music educator. He was a font of music trivia and an endless source of background information about the music contained in the many books he painstakingly arranged for his various groups. He happily shared this knowledge with his fellow musicians and audiences alike.”

Dr. David Buley, Associate Professor of Music Education at Laurentian University, was honoured in 2016. Dr. Charlene Biggs, the Director of Piano Studies and Music History at Cambrian College, knows Dr. Buley through his establishment of the Ariadne Women’s Chamber Choir, Young Sudbury Singers and Octatonic Decadence. “I was impressed by his commitment to expanding musical life in the Sudbury community, by his dedication to helping singers hone their talents, his deep desire to instill the love of music in the children, and his commitment to educating at every level.”

Dr. Robert “Bob” Hall was the 2017 recipient of the Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award. Dr. Hall is an accomplished musician, vocalist, pianist, organist and conductor, serving as Associate Professor of Music at Laurentian University, and Director of Music and Organist at St. Andrew’s United Church, Sudbury. At the 2017 Dinner, Dr. Hall shared a booklet about the many music educators he has worked with and the key things they have taught him. “There are many more people that I could have named who shared musical insights by word or by example,” he said. “It makes me very thankful that I have had the privilege to experience so many inspirational music educators in so many ways over the past years.”

Brenda and Jamie Arrowsmith, a mother/son duo who are well known musicians and music educators, received the Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award in 2018. Brenda Arrowsmith imparted her passion for music to her son Jamie and both have made significant contributions to music education. Jamie, in turn, is inspiring another generation of musicians through his work at Cambrian College, the Sudbury Symphony and the Sudbury Youth Orchestra. “As a music educator, I am grateful for the Trust’s role in helping to ensure quality music instruction in our schools,” said Dr. Jamie Arrowsmith.

Added Brenda Arrowsmith: “I remember in my own teenage years what a big deal it was to have even a few new instruments… no dents, no broken springs, no missing key pads, no sticky valves or bent speaker keys, shiny clean lacquer… so much easier to play. It was positively motivating and fun! Thanks to the Joan Mantle Trust, that excitement is still being experienced by music students, and many music teachers are grateful to have good, working instruments. I am also willing to bet that many of us perhaps went into music as a career in the first place because of a strong formative experience in high school music programs, or in youth orchestras, or because of a passionate, talented teacher… a Joan Mantle.”

Heather Parker, Co-ordinator of the Kiwanis Music Festival of Sudbury, received the 2019 Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award. A talented pianist, organist and vocalist, she earned her teaching credentials from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Heather Parker has shared her love of music with infants, children, young people and adults. She has provided outstanding musical leadership at St. John’s United Church in Levack as organist, hand chime director, music director and adult choir director. She has also been a piano instructor, vocal coach, and Kindermusik educator. “Heather Parker was my music teacher,” said Stéphane Ostrander, a music teacher at Sudbury Secondary School. “Every week for 13 years I went to Mrs. Parker’s house for a lesson and learned about communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, determination and discipline.” He added: “Heather Parker inspired me to be the musician and teacher I am today.”

About the Trust

The Joan Mantle Music Trust was established in 2008 to pay tribute to a long-time educator who made an immense contribution to music education at the local, provincial and national levels. Joan Mantle passed away on June 9, 2009, after a courageous battle with cancer.

The Joan Mantle Music Trust allocates funds to school music programs in Rainbow District School Board on a rotating basis. The Trust also accepts the donation of new and used musical instruments and allocates them to schools in need. This ensures that there is an ongoing improvement in the condition of musical equipment throughout the Board, allowing for students to achieve more in their musical studies together.

About the International Dinner

Rainbow District School Board will host the eighth International Dinner and Silent Auction in support of the Joan Mantle Music Trust on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 6 pm at the ParkSide Older Adult Centre, 140 Durham Street, in Sudbury. The menu will feature a wide variety of foods from countries such as Italy, Greece, India, and France. Entertainment before and after the meal will be provided by students from various Rainbow schools.

Tickets are $50 per person (with a $30 tax receipt provided upon request) and tables of eight are $400 (with a $240 tax receipt provided upon request). All proceeds will go towards the purchase of new instruments for Rainbow Schools.

Tickets can be reserved by contacting Line Roberge at 705-523-3308, ext. 8252, email [email protected].

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-674-3171, ext. 7217.