Sunday, March 27, 2022
12:30 pm ET
Via Zoom
Indigenous culture involves music as a part of celebration, ceremony, teaching, communication and healing. Ngamwag Shkinweg (The Youth Are Singing), is an initiative focused on inspiring Indigenous youth through music.
On Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 pm ET, we invite Indigenous youth to participate in the Ngamwag Shkinweg Virtual Gathering. This free online event is a chance for Indigenous youth to connect with others from across the country who are passionate about music and music education, to share their ideas about how music can and should exist in their schools and communities, and to hear from inspiring guest speakers.
Event Breakdown
12:30 Opening Music & Introductions
12:40 Icebreaker Activities
12:50 Guest Speaker/Performance
1:50 Break
2:00 Keynote Speaker/Performance
3:00 Q&A/Open Discussion
3:30 Closing Music
This is a FREE event for Indigenous youth age 30 and under!
Meet Our Special Guests
Marcia Chum (Speaker/Performer)
Marcia Chum-Gibbons is a captivating Indigenous folk-pop singer-songwriter with a resonant voice, who was born in Kapuskasing and raised in Timmins, in Northern Ontario.
Both her parents are musicians, so music was always a way of communicating at home. The stereo was full of old country like Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash, and ‘70s rock like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. In her teen years, Chum gravitated more to Joan Jett, Shania Twain, and Nirvana.
Of Cree heritage, Constance Lake First Nations, Gibbons is a traditional hand drum singer from the age of 14. She took up pop music when her father showed up at her place one day with a guitar, and told her to learn it. “It was a hard beginning, but I was eventually able to express myself in a way that I didn’t think I could. When you’re born with a purpose it will find you no matter what. I wasn’t planning on music but music found me,” says Gibbons
Since then, she’s released two singles, and a cover of the 4 Non Blondes hit “What’s Up?” Her original “If Only” earned a Song of the Year nomination at the 2017 Native American Music Awards. Gibbons has also participated in a placement with The Indigenous Music Residency, where invited artists from across Canada enjoy a full week of skill sharing, mentorship, and networking. She has undergone vocal training with Lawson Studios’ Lorraine Lawson and Faulkner Abraham, and has collaborated with various fellow songwriters and producers.
Describing herself as ambitious, friendly, and confident, Gibbons has had her singing voice compared to that of Buffy Sainte-Marie and Stevie Nicks. The veracity of that comparison is evident on her current single and video, “Undone,” which examines the way bad timing can circumvent a possible romantic relationship, and how being hurt in love can prevent people from risking the prospect of loving again. “Undone” was nominated for 4 categories in The Native American Music Awards including Best Female Artist. Now married she and her husband perform under the name Gibbons Girl.
Gibbons has been invited to share her story at many youth gatherings, summits, and schools, along with the likes of Ashley Callingbull, Ted Nolan, and Adrian Sutherland’s Midnight Shine.
ABOUT YOUTH4MUSIC
Youth4Music is a program dedicated to Canadian youth inspiring and building community through music. Through the creation of regional, provincial, and national teams, youth leaders are empowered to collaborate in the development of projects that raise the awareness of the benefits of music in our lives. Youth4Music is a program of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. Led by youth, for youth, through music.
ABOUT THE COALITION FOR MUSIC EDUCATION
Youth4Music is a program of The Coalition for Music Education, an organization made up of parents, students, educators, and business people from varying walks of life who support school music programs and highlight the importance of music education for all young people in Canada. More info: www.coalitioncanada.ca