THE SLAIGHT MUSIC RESIDENCY

The Slaight Music Residency is a hands-on program that integrates composers and songwriters into the onscreen storytelling process and advances opportunities for them to work in the screen industry across film, TV and digital. The CFC and The Slaight Family Foundation were presented with the inaugural Award for Distinguished Services to the Industry from the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) this year in recognition of work to support screen composers through this program.

The 2021-22 cohort - Deanna Choi, Scott Harwood, Kalaisan Kalaichelvan, Kaïa Kater, Aubrey McGhee and Alexandra Petkovski - officially completed their residency this year. We celebrated these creators at an industry showcase in January 2023, where we screened some of the work they created during the program to a theatre packed with 400+ industry professionals. Take a look at (and listen to!) their original musically driven pieces here.

Throughout the program, funded by Lead Supporter The Slaight Family Foundation, these creators participated in 45 sessions and workshops, including business bootcamps, scoring exercises, orchestral training and more, and have met and worked with 50+ industry professionals from across Canada and the U.S.

In January 2023, we welcomed five new music creators into the 2023 program: Amine Bouzaher, Conan Karpinski, Lydia Ainsworth, Stella Conway and Tori Morrison. Throughout their six-month residency, these music creators work to expand their skills, onscreen confidence and career and marketplace opportunities through a combination of tailored mentorship, workshops and industry sessions.

Alumni of the Slaight Music Residency continue to receive recognition and awards for their outstanding scores and songs across film, TV and digital. Select highlights:

− Lora Bidner, 2017 Slaight Music Residency alumna, received a 2022 Emmy nomination (Children’s & Family Awards) and a 2023 Canadian Screen Award (CSA) nomination (Best Original Music, Drama) for her work on Ruby and the Well

− Program alumni received 11 nominations for 2023 CSA nominations, Kaïa Kater took home the award for Best Original Music – Original Song for her song “Songbird” for hit series The Porter