The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, June 11, 2010 · 32 Young musician is one of top 20 under 20 By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF She's had a pretty busy last few years and now that she's graduating high school, from the sounds of it, things are just picking up. Oakville's Elyse Simpson is a musician and an entrepreneur and at 17 years old she is also a recipient of this year's Canada's Top 20 Under 20 award. "I was absolutely shocked and humbled," the Iroquois Ridge High School student said. "It was unbelievable. I can't believe it, I'm lucky to have been chosen." The awards are handed out annually to the top 20 Canadian youths in recognition of the innovation and contributions they make in their endeavors. Simpson is one of two Oakville recipients this year. The awards were handed out last week. She added that the other 19 recipients, whom she met during a week of events in Toronto, are great achievers and she feels lucky to be a part of it. For the award, a sponsor must nominate the individual. Simpson is a student by day and a musician and promoter by night. Not only does she have her own solo music career, which will take her on tour around Ontario, Québec and the U.S. this fall, she has her own independent music label, Jangle Records, for upand-coming artists like herself. "It's really busy and it's demanding to a sense, but in the best possible way," she said of her music endeavors. "It's demanding, but because you get so excited about it you want to stay up those extra hours at night to practice, you want to spend those extra few hours writing music." It was her work with artists like herself that landed her the award from Youths in Motion, which includes a year-long mentorship program with someone in her field along with many other bonuses. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER STRUMMIN' UP SUCCESS: Elyse Simpson, a 17 year old singer/songwriter, was recognized with a Top 20 under 20 in Canada award. The recipients spent a week in Toronto where they attended seminars and workshops for things such as media and etiquette training, meeting CEOs of successful companies such as Pepsi and CTV and more. "Just from spending a week there I already learned so much through osmosis from all the other people that were there, as well as all the workshops and seminars and talks they lined up for us," Simpson said. She added the award also provides recipients with networking opportunities. Simpson already has a music business specialist certificate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston that she completed online. And, in January she will be attending the school full time for a double major in a vocal and music business program. She added that while she's still in school she will still work on her career. "I will still be performing and focusing on my solo career because that's the end goal of it all. Even going to Berklee, it's just to hone my craft and learn as much as I can and soak it all up like a sponge," she said. She will also continue running Jangle Records, however at a different capacity than artist management. "We switched Jangle Records to focus more on the branding and merchandise side and less on the artist management," she said. "We're lucky enough to have had artists who are now going on to Harvard (University)." And before she heads off to Boston as a student, she will spend a few months touring first. This fall she will perform in places such as Ottawa, Montreal and New York among others. She said she will do more than 30 shows over a period of about three to four months. "I'm really excited," she said. "I love travelling, I love music and I love meeting new people and this is just a great combination of all three." The tour will also be more than just about music. She will be filming a documentary series of her tour that she hopes will be picked up by a TV network. She has some experience with film as she produced a short-film, titled Blank, for Jangle Records. Despite having a record label, Simpson prefers to keep Jangle Records separate from her own music career. "I don't do my own work through the record label, I manage other artists through that," she said. "But I've been marketing myself for about as long as I've been performing, so that's three to four years now." She said marketing herself for so long has helped her get many contacts in the music industry. For more information, visit www.elysesimpson.com. bignames.smalltheatre. Free guitar concert June 16 The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts presents Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26th Call 905-815-2021 or visit www.oakvillecentre.ca Tickets On Sale Now! A local up-and-coming guitarist will be holding a free concert Wednesday, June 16 at Trafalgar Presbyterian Church. Brock Lemiski will be performing musical selections from the Renaissance and Romantic eras, as well as music by South American composers and some more recent, lesser known works. Lemiski placed first last year in the Ottawa Kiwanis Music Festival and received a schol- arship to study at the Domaine Forget Guitar Session in St. Irene, Québec this summer. Currently he's a student at the University of Ottawa. "This concert will showcase the immense range of the guitar," said Lemiski in a press release, "and I invite all music lovers to come and enjoy an evening of classical guitar." The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. The church is located at 354 Upper Middle Rd. E. 44th annual OAS art auction Saturday The Oakville Art Society's 44th annual Art Auction will be held on Saturday, June 12. The auction will take place at the Oakville Centennial Gallery, 120 Navy St. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The auction will begin at 7:30 p.m. As in past years, the auction features original works of art -- paintings, sculpture and pottery, by emerging and established artists from all over Ontario. A special feature is a silent auction which features smaller works. For more information, visit oakvilleartsociety.com.