News Article

Polls are now open for Music PEI Board Of Directors voting, and remain open until Friday, June 29 at 11:59pm.

Members need to login on the Music PEI website to vote. Please go here to vote – http://www.musicpei.com/about/ballot_member.php

Please select up to three (1 to 3) of the following nominees for a position on the Board of Directors of Music PEI. You may vote only once and you can vote up until 11:59 PM AST, June 29th, 2012.

Only members in good standing will be eligible to vote.
(to renew or become a member click here: http://musicpei.com/become

There are several Music PEI Board of Directors positions open. Those elected to the board will be announced at the Music PEI AGM July 17.

The commitment and challenges are considerable but serving as a Music PEI board member is a privilege and an extremely rewarding experience as we continue to help the music industry grow and flourish on Prince Edward Island.

Candidates for the Music PEI Board of Directors are below:

Andrew King
Pat Deighan
Dan Rowswell
Nikkie Gallant
Susan Cameron
Grady Poe

Candidates’ biographies are below

Andrew King
My name is Andrew King and I’m currently the Editor of Canadian Musician magazine as well as three trade-specific music and entertainment publications by Norris-Whitney Communications. I moved to Summerside from Ontario at the foot of 2009 and have resided here since. I enjoy all aspects of music and its creation and am particularly excited about what’s been coming out of the Maritimes and, more specifically, PEI over the last few years.

Because of my profession and personal passion for this business, I have a solid
grasp of the current state of the industry here on the coast and, perhaps of more value to MPEI members, the rest of the country and continent. I’ve been very pleased with how MPEI has been operating over the last few years, creating valuable professional opportunities for Island artists of all styles. Were I elected to the Board, I’d be striving to use my skill set to continue along that tangent while also trying to expand those opportunities into new markets through targeted outreach, exchanges, etc. Key to these aspirations is ensuring our talent is trained to capitalize on such opportunities and, subsequently, start creating their own.

I would also like to see more programming that engages music fans on the Island
and beyond. A lot of the Association’s initiatives are (rightfully) aimed at strengthening the industry, though through further public outreach, we can also be enhancing the consumer base for that industry in a mutually-beneficial partnership with more potential for reward. Cheers!

Dan Rowswell
A producer, arranger, and performer based in Hunter River, Dan Rowswell has 26 years’ experience in the Music, IT and Telecom industries, including business and service development, IT planning, music and event production and social media marketing.

After graduating from ST. F.X. Music, Dan worked as a sax player performing with bands such as the Ugly Babies, Urban Turbans, Altsys, and the Vic Vogel Big Band in Montreal, and others mostly in NS, Quebec and Ontario.

In the 1990’s Dan managed a small IT sales and service company in Toronto and then in 1998 Dan moved back to PEI to work for Island Tel, leading projects to develop, manage and market Internet services here in PEI; and eventually all over Atlantic Canada for Bell Aliant. Dan’s last project involved leading a team of 50+ to replace the aging voicemail service with new Internet messaging services – a $15M project over 5 years delivered on time and on budget.

Since leaving Aliant, Dan has reconnected with his music roots and the music scene here in PEI. Dan served as Producer for Music PEI Week 2012, producing the Music PEI Awards Gala 2012 along with thirteen other shows. Dan also served as Assistant Producer for the Gene MacLellan Tribute Concert recorded for CBC TV.

Dan is currently establishing a management business here in PEI dedicated to helping Island artists with business, and social media strategy. Dan currently serves on the boards of the PEI Symphony and the PEI Jazz & Blues Festival.

Nikkie Gallant
Nikkie Gallant has been involved with the Music PEI scene as a singer/songwriter. She has always been focused on the business end of the music industry. Along with being nominated for several Music PEI awards, most notably Songwriter of the Year in 2006, she has also released 2 albums to date.

She graduated from Holland College in 2010 with two business diplomas. Currently, Nikkie is 2 credits away from having a Bachelor of Business Studies at UPEI. During her time at Holland College she attended a course called “The Business of Music”. She has been working in the music industry for Spincount, a radio promotions company, for the last 2 years. Her main focus with SpinCount has been radio publicity and representation for a variety of artists. These include artists such as Joel Plaskett and Gordie Sampson, and Island artists like Rose Cousins, Tim Chaisson, and Catherine MacLellan.

Nikkie has performed original material since 1998. She has spent a number of years living and performing in Calgary. She has since returned to pursue her passion on PEI. Due to her focus on education, she has been unable to perform for a majority of the last 4 years, but music is still her first love.

Nikkie is uniquely qualified for this position, as she has a rare blend of industry knowledge and creativity. She believes in the music scene on PEI, and with your support, plans to use her knowledge to help the PEI music community continue to thrive.

Susan Cameron
Susan Cameron was raised in the Charlottetown at a time when the Confederation
Centre was truly the center of the “arts” and she participated in many programs at the Centre – dance lessons in the rehearsal hall, art lessons, drama classes, and numerous performances. Susan was an inaugural student into the string program, of the Unit 3 School system, in 1969 and later played with the PEI Symphony.

Currently she concentrates on maintaining her vocal skills and holds a RCM Grade 6 certificate in vocal studies. She has performed with many choirs: The Confederation Centre Choir, Zion Church Choir, DellaCasa, and more recently The Summerside Community Choir, Susan is a lifelong advocate for and patron of all genres of music on PEI, from the grassroots traditional to classical performance.

Susan has been actively contributing her time to various volunteer Boards since
returning to PEI in 1991. Board participation includes:

Two years with the Rotary Regional Library Board of Directors
Twenty years as a member of the Prince County Hospital Auxiliary, several of them
spent in Executive positions.
President of the PEI Association of Healthcare Auxiliaries for two year term
Public Relations Director for the Canadian Association of HealthCare Auxiliaries for a three-year term.
Member of the Board of the PEI Bed & Breakfast and Country Inns Association for
thirteen years, and Chair of the Board for a two-year term.
Chair of the Capital Campaign to build the new Summerside Presbyterian Church.

Susan has a demonstrated commitment to excellence in communication, fund-raising, and Board governance skills.

Pat Deighan

A decorated veteran of the Prince Edward Island music scene, Pat Deighan cut his teeth in popular Island bands Strawberry, Eyes For Telecopes and Pat Deighan & The Orb Weavers. By day, Deighan can most often found behind the counter of Back Alley Musicwith his finger on the pulse about new Island music and upcoming concerts; by night, you can often find him playing drums in front of a packed house with popular Island cover band The Love Junkies (and, more likely than not, hosting the after-party). He also regularly joins Nova Scotia’s In-Flight Safety on tour, and has performed across Canada, USA, the UK and Germany with the group in recent years.

With his wife Meghann, Deighan owns and operates Trailside Cafe & Inn in Mount Stewart, one of the Island’s premiere small halls that offers music-lovers of all ages an intimate setting in which to enjoy a wide range of Canadian songwriters. In their opening season, the Trailside has hosted sold-out showcases by Dennis Ellsworth, Matt Minglewood, Matt Mays, and many others, as well as inaugurating the weekly Hillsborough River Gospel Brunch, a Sunday afternoon hosted by Matt “Nudie” Putnam of Nudie & The Turks.

With unremitting energy and enthusiasm in support of music on Prince Edward Island—whether he is performing, hosting concerts, or selling other performers’ records—Deighan is an irreplaceable piece in the mosaic of Island music, and his efforts to share Island music show no signs of slowing.

Grady Poe
Grady Poe has had 20 years experience working full time in the music business on Prince Edward Island. His experience includes being manager for Barachois, Nils Ling (theatre), the Chucky Danger Band (now Paper Lions), Les Girls, Gadelle and Vishten. As well he has worked as a performance coach for various Island based artists. During his tenure as manager for Barachois the band achieved a nine year career as full time international touring artists based on PEI. In addition he has worked in the studio as a musician (Jerry Holland, Teresa Doyle, Colette Cheverie), producer (Gadelle) and executive producer (3 award winning CD’s for Barachois). He has also founded and managed the record label associated with the Barachois recordings.

Grady sat on the original board of Music PEI and helped guide its transition from an awards show to a music industry association. He also served on the sub-committee which created the grant programs now being administered by MPEI.

He stepped down from the board several years ago to allow for change and to focus on other personal activities. He is once again interested in serving on the board and thereby the musical community on PEI. As a former board member and given his past experience, he knows firsthand many of the challenges faced by MPEI and the music industry at large.