MEET THE PEEPS BEHIND THE 2011 SYMPOSIUM PROGRAMMING With tune-yards, the raincoats, gary lucas and more!!
Montreal, August 25th, 2011

Montreal, August 25, 2011 – The behind the scenes, explorations of music, indispensable “how-to’s”, topped with unheard stories and testimonies are all a part of what is to be discovered at the 2011 Symposium, POP Montreal's conference and workshop segment. The majority of this year’s events will be held at POP Montreal's brand new multidisciplinary hub POP Quarters (3450 St-Urbain), we will also be hosting events for a first time at Cinéma L’Amour (4015 St-Laurent), amongst other interesting places.

By giving POP Montreal’s festival goers intimate access to the movers and shakers of the international music community, the Symposium consistently delivers unique interactions between its attendees and guests. “We always try to be most relevant to our main audience: POP Montreal artists and concert-goers and in such offer them free events that will engage their minds and concerns. Through our conversations, panels and workshops, we're able to generate more spontaneous and real-world learning situations” explains Symposium Director Patricia Boushel. To put itself to the real-world challenge, several events are being planned in partnership with the rest of the festival.

Semi-local vocalist extraordinaire Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs) will discuss her recent forays into composition for vocal ensembles. She will workshop one of her songs with a local choir who will later join her onstage at her Ukrainian Federation show that very night! A slice of the past will be discovered at Gary Lucas’ Captain Beefheart Symposium, who has developed a crash course about Don Van Vliet, the man behind the legend he played with, showing rare archival footage and spinning unreleased tracks, while describing the idiosyncratic strategies and stylings of one of the most renowned experimental/free jazz/blues/rock bands in history. Joining him that night will be Mary Margaret O'Hara, Daniel Levitin, Chris Burns, Jonathan Cummins and Aids Wolf's Chloe Lum. The Symposium is also very proud to present a talk with The Raincoats at the Canadian art opening of The Raincoats: Adventures, where original bandmembers Gina Birch, Ana da Silva and Shirley O'Loughlin will talk with local artist/academic Roxanne Arsenault (Donzelle) about their sound of then and now, the communities they sprang from and engendered, the art they are still producing and the lives they've led. The Symposium also has an abundant amount of free talks and workshops, such as a lecture by Pulitzer-Prize winning comic book icon Art Spiegelman, conversations with “outsider” pop artist R. Stevie Moore, The Ponderosa Stomp Lafayette music heros Bobby Allen, Lil’ Buck Sinegal and Dr. Ike as well as free workshops with Afro-Latin Soul king Joe Bataan, local songstress Grimes, Julien Aidelbaum (Scène 1245), Jeffrey Remedios (Arts & Crafts) and from some of the world’s most important music festivals: Primavera (SP), Oya Festivalen (NO), Nuits Sonores (FR), c/o pop (GER), SXSW (US) and much much more!

Since 2004, the Symposium has been giving their audience unique access to creators and creative thinkers, hosting free events in intimate environments. With 5 full days of programming throughout the festival, the Symposium attracts over a thousand festival-goers and curious minds on a daily basis. Daytime activities have never been so inspiring.

More information at http://popmontreal.com/en/symposium/events

Complete Programming:

The Symposium, The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and the Media and Urban Life in Montreal Research Team present:
CULTURAL SCENES, CREATIVE COMMUNITIES AND INNOVATION AGENDAS
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 12:00pm (goes on all afternoon)
FREE!

The Symposium and Music Managers Forum Canada present:
BUILDING CAREERS AND INTERNATIONAL LEGACIES
Thursday, September 22, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 11:30am
FREE!

The Symposium and Future of Music Coalition present:
TECH MONTRÉAL: Griffintown and Beyond
Thursday, September 22, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 11:30am
FREE!

The Symposium and FACTOR present:
GETTING IT TOGETHER
Thursday, September 22, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 2:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium and CIMA present:
MEET THE FESTIVALS!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 2:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium, the US Department of State and Creole Month in Montreal present:
LOUISIANA ROOTS IN MONTREAL, a conversation with Bobby Allen, Lil' Buck Sinegal and Dr. Ike of the Ponderosa Stomp
Friday, September 23, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 11:00am
FREE!

The Symposium and the NFB present:
MUSIC SUPERVISION WORKSHOP
Friday, September 23, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time: 11:00am
FREE!

The Symposium, Maisonneuve Magazine and Innovations en Concert present:
VOICES ON VOICES, discussion and workshop with Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs) and Drew Nelles (Maisonneuve Magazine)
Friday, September 23, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 1:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium, SOCAN and Third Side Music present:
ALL THE MISTAKES YOU CAN MAKE AND HOW TO (NOT) MAKE THEM
Friday, September 23, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 2:30pm
FREE!

The Symposium and Maisonneuve Magazine present:
THE ABUNDANT SINGULARITY OF R. STEVIE MOORE, interviewed by writer and journalist Natasha Pickovicz
Friday, September 23, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 3:30pm
FREE!

The Symposium Afro-Latin Soul present:
NO ORDINARY GUY, a conversation and class with Joe Bataan led by Afro-Latin Soul's Frank Diggz
Friday, September 23, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 4:30pm
FREE!

The Symposium presents:
FROM HERE TO BAIE-COMEAU, with Julien Aidelbaum, André Guérette, Céline Thibault and Frannie Holder
Saturday, September 24, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 12:30pm
FREE!

The Symposium and S.A.C. present:
S.A.C. COLLABORATIVE SONGWRITING WORKSHOP
Saturday, September 24, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 1:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium presents:
THE RECORD FAIR SERIES
Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25, 2011
Ukrainian Federation (lower level), 5213 Hutchison
doors/start time 2:00pm
end time 6:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium and SOCAN present:
TIM HECKER AND GRIMES IN CONVERSATION
Saturday, September 24, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 2:30pm
FREE!

The Symposium and Canada Council for the Arts present:
IT IS LUCAS: Guitar masterclass with Gary Lucas
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cinéma L’Amour, 4015 St-Laurent
doors/start time 3:30pm
FREE!

The Symposium, SBC Gallery and Drawn & Quarterly present:
What the %&*! Happened to Comics?, with Art Spiegelman
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Concordia University (Downtown Campus), Hall Building H-110
doors/start time 3:30pm/4:00pm
Tickets: 20$

The Symposium and La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse present:
A CONVERSATION WITH THE RAINCOATS, public talk with Roxanne Arsenault (Donzelle/La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 5:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium and the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma present:
MUSIC SEEN, screening and Q&A with Hisham Mayet (Sublime Frequencies label)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
door/start time 7:00pm
FREE!

The Symposium presents:
THE CAPTAIN BEEFHEART SYMPOSIUM WITH GARY LUCAS, with Mary Margaret O'Hara, Dan Levitin, Jonathan Cummins, Chloe Lum, and Chris Burns. Maybe a few more!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cinéma L’Amour, 4015 St-Laurent
doors/ start time: 12:00am
Tickets: 12$/15$

The Symposium and the Kabir Cultural Centre present:
BAULIN' WITH BABU, Led by Babukishan Das Baul and Montreal's Will Eilzlini
Sunday, September 25, 2011
POP Quarters, 3450 St-Urbain
doors/start time 1:00pm
FREE!