Get you hands dirty at Pop Symposium

The Symposium is POP Montréal's artist-driven conference, offering five days of open conversation with artists and industry, panels, listening sessions, and keynote presentations. We'll create a space where music-lovers and music-makers, students and professionals, can exchange thoughts and skills with icons and icons-to-be, amidst the atmosphere of social exchange and experimentation that defines Montreal's artistic community. It's all about working, creating, playing, producing, dreaming, and trying to make a living through it all.
 

Inspiring Talks by Inspiring Musicians

This year includes conversations with influential musicians who will bring their unique perspectives to Symposium. R.Stevie Moore will discuss his complex oeuvre,  drawing on more than 400 albums released since 1967. The Raincoats will join us for a conversation about sound then and now, sharing some pretty unique stories. Gary Lucas will conduct a masterclass focused on an in-depth exploration of his creative process, and also present a crash course on his work with Captain Beefheart.  Bobby Allen, Li'l Buck Sinegal and Dr. Ike of the Ponderosa Stomp will talk about the living music of Quebec's cousins down south, while filmmaker and musical archivist Hisham Mayet, co-head of the label Sublime Frequencies, will present a film screening and Q & A.

Expand Your Mind

In our ateliers and workshops, we've compiled discussions with the visionaries who are actively shaping the face of independent culture. Don't miss "Voices on Voices", a  workshop/discussion on writing and arrangement with Merrill Garbus, aka Tune-Yards. We are also thrilled to be able to present Joe Bataan, one of the creative souls who built the inner-city music of America.   And philosopher/poet/composer/singer Babukishan Das Baul will offer a workshop on the 5,000 year-old Baul tradition and how it can be integrated into modern North American composition.

Learn about the Industry 

If you are looking to get a job in the industry or you’re a musician looking for new ways to get your music out there we have talks to help you figure out the system and how you can take part in it. The Music Managers Forum will join us to talk about what it takes to manage an artist or manage yourself. Industry professionals will give informative talks on touring in Quebec, and writing music for film, while Third Side Music will let us know about ALL THE MISTAKES YOU CAN MAKE AND HOW TO (NOT) MAKE THEM. There will also be panel discussions on CULTURAL SCENES, CREATIVE COMMUNITIES AND INNOVATION AGENDAS, and on GETTING IT TOGETHER- an open Face-to-Face workshop which offers the invaluable opportunity to meet representatives from funding agencies who will answer your questions about how grant-wrtiting works and critique your projects.