We all heard at one point that music is a universal language. But did you know that it was also used to fight for justice and liberation? This is especially true for Reggae. It began as a musical genre for marginalized people in Jamaica who used their music to protest against systems of oppression. Reggae was also used by women to fight for their rights. The voice of powerful Black Women resonated so strongly that in 1944, Jamaican women were granted the right to vote and sit in Parliament. In this module, meet Jah’Mila, a Jamaican-born Halifax-based vocalist who performs not only Bob Marley’s protest songs but also her own with the NAC Orchestra.
Featuring
JOHNNY WAS A GOOD MAN
Composed by Bob Marley
Original Lyrics by Bob Marley
Arranged by Aaron Davis
Performed by par Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Jah’Mila, Kristine Kovačević, Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee, Charlie Benoit, Alec Frith, Tedmund Skiffington, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
CHANT THEIR NAMES
Composed by Jhamiela Smith, Richard McNeil
Original Lyrics by Jhamiela Smith, Richard McNeil
Arranged by Aaron Davis
Performed by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Jah’Mila, Kristine Kovačević, Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee, Charlie Benoit, Alec Frith, Tedmund Skiffington, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
BLACK WOMAN
Composed by Judy Mowatt
Original Lyrics by Judy Mowatt
Arranged by Aaron Davis
Performed by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Jah’Mila, Kristine Kovačević, Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee, Charlie Benoit, Alec Frith, Tedmund Skiffington, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
REDEMPTION SONG
Composed by Bob Marley
Original Lyrics by Bob Marley
Arranged by Christopher Palmer
Performed by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Jah’Mila, Kristine Kovačević, Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee, Charlie Benoit, Alec Frith, Tedmund Skiffington, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser
A passionate communicator, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. He is concurrently the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, and Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education of the San Francisco Symphony.
Daniel served as Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and was Cover Conductor with the Washington National Opera in 2020.
Daniel is the host of Canadian Broadcasting Company’s (CBC’s) nationally broadcast weekly radio show Centrestage.
He was also the subject of an award-winning, full-length CBC documentary called Disruptor Conductor, focussing on his concerts for neurodiverse, prison, African diaspora, and LGBTQ2S+ populations.
Daniel earned his Bachelor degrees in Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and his Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.
Wrapped in the roots of the Reggae family tree, Jah’Mila makes music that is creatively crafted and deeply inspiring. She has toured with towering Reggae bands like The Wailers, Groundation, Black Uhuru among many others. Equipped with over a decade of Reggae industry experience, and also with the amazing support of her musical team, she is poised and prepared to stand in the center of every stage.
She has been carrying the torch for roots Reggae music in the Maritimes, and she channels her art into a service of advocacy for the systemically oppressed and marginalized. Her single ‘Chant Their Names’ is a cry for change in a system that has failed the black community repeatedly. The lyrics beg for police accountability and implores us to keep the memory of these victims alive by chanting their names out loud. She is passionate about matters of equity and believes that a positive future is possible through community, diversity and inclusion.
Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.
Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.
Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
Kristine has been working with Jah’Mila for over four years, and has been singing her heart out for the past 30. Growing up in a family of lead singers, Kristine had always enjoyed finding the elusive harmonies, unintentionally preparing her for an exciting career as a backing vocalist. Being quite new to the world of professional singing and performing, Kristine has managed to be featured on several albums, has performed with two orchestras and even toured in Jamaica.
Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee is a musician, songwriter, vocal arranger, and producer from Toronto, Ontario. Owen grew up singing in church, and after studying Vocal Performance Jazz at York University he began pursuing music as a full-time career, and has been making strides ever since.
In 2014, Owen extended his musical reach to the East Coast of Canada when he relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is currently the Minister of Music at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Upper Hammonds Plains, the Program Coordinator of the African Nova Scotian Music Association, the former Musical Director of the Nova Scotia Mass Choir (2014-2019), and the current Musical Director of CBC’s East Coast Music Hour, The Story and the Song series.
Owen is the recipient of numerous awards and nominations. Most recently, he was nominated for the 2021 African Canadian Artist of the Year for both Music Nova Scotia and the East Coast Music Association, and Hip-Hop Recording of the Year for the East Coast Music Association. He also won Single of the Year for the 2021 African Nova Scotian Music Association.
The youngest of a generation of musical Friths from Bermuda, Alec was inspired to play bass at a young age by the music of Bob Marley, as well as the South African sounds of the Paul Simon album, Graceland. A long trip to the Caribbean on a boat as a kid, and the influence of his cousin and Reggae singer, Mishka, solidified his love of roots music. Spending his high school years on a farm in St. Ann’s, Cape Breton, he taught himself to play many styles of music on guitar and bass, which led to him studying music in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he received a degree in bass performance. He has participated in some amazing musical groups over the years and playing with Jah’Mila has been a great opportunity to mix his love of roots music with his love for executing complex arrangements.
Teddy Skiffington has been performing and recording drums for over 15 years. His musical influences include Questlove, Carleton Barrett, and Brian Fraser-Moore among others. His interest in Reggae music and Jamaican culture led to two tours of Jamaica in 2017 and 2020 with Jah’Mila. Teddy now resides in Toronto, Ontario.
A third-generation musician, Nova Scotian guitarist Charlie Benoit turned to Reggae music from his family’s Celtic background throughout playing with the band Dub Kartel from 2013-2018. Since then, Charlie has gone on to support Jah’Mila as she has gone on to take center stage. In addition to playing in the band, Charlie also contributes to the team in video production, shooting music videos for recent singles ‘Chant Their Names’ and ‘Roots Girl.’
Keithy Antoine works across art, radio, television, and web as a socially-committed entrepreneur, visual artist, and animator. Since 2015, she has been the founder and co-owner of Espace Urbain Montreal, the largest Afro-Urban-Canadian boutique with a vital societal mission. And also the Director of the organization Union Urbaine, that coordonate the Festival Afro Urbain. She is an active member of Wecan Collective, to promote afro-canadian artists. In 2022, she co-host the new web series Pa T’Mentir, on ICI Tou.tv by Radio-Canada.
The NAC Foundation would like to acknowledge the generous support from the Friends of the NAC Orchestra, A Donor-Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Ottawa, The Janice and Earle O’Born Fund for Artistic Excellence, Grant and Alice Burton, and the donors and sponsors of the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust, the primary resource for youth and education funding at the National Arts Centre.
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