Student’s song in the spotlight

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This article was published 31/01/2018 (3033 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Corina Schuler has been singing for as long as she can remember. But she’s about to premiere an original song of her own for the very first time.

“It’s definitely weird to think about performing something that’s not just my voice, but my music too,” said Schuler, a classically trained vocalist, flutist and Grade 12 student at River East Collegiate. “I’ve had music written for me to sing for the band but this will be the first time something I’ve written has been performed.”

On Sun., Feb. 11, the REC jazz orchestra will premiere Schuler’s song Love So Deep. The project came together after Jeff Kula, head of REC’s band program, put Schuler in touch with local musician and producer Rusty Matyas.

 “She brought a song that was pretty much done already,” said Matyas, who grew up in Transcona and made a name for himself on the national music scene as a member of The Waking Eyes and Imaginary Cities, among others. “It’s a timeless sounding song with a catchy chorus, and really well written lyrics. And she’s got quite a voice.”

The youngest of three children from East St. Paul, Schuler said she was originally inspired by her eldest sister Brigitta’s singing.

“I’d go to her performances, and try to mimic her,” she said.

As the band leader at River East, Kula first got to know Schuler as her older siblings made their way through the band room. When Schuler herself arrived at REC in Grade 9, Kula began finding songs for her to sing with the jazz orchestra. Knowing that Schuler was also interested in writing led Kula to suggest she work to put together one of her own songs.

“I thought it would be great if we could do an original,” he said. “As a graduation year for her, I thought it could be a bit of a swan song.”

“I’ve always loved writing poetry, even when I was really young,” Schuler said. “I put a couple together, put them in the same key. I had some input from friends, and slowly it formed this song.”

Kula connected Schuler with Matyas in the spring of 2017, and over the summer they put together a demo of Love So Deep.

“(Matyas) was really accepting of my ideas,” Schuler said. “He gave me some input without telling me things were wrong. I learned a lot about the difference between poetry and lyrics. He also helped elaborate on the chord progression I had, how to add in different notes to make it more interesting.”

“My actual input in this was zero, apart from connecting them,” Kula said. “I think (Love So Deep) is quite phenomenal. The kids really loved it.”

For a big band arrangement, Kula drew on a former student of his, Kevin Curtis, who was in the band program when Kula taught at John Henderson Junior High.

“Originally, it had a folk roots feel, and the arrangement he came up with is quite different,” Kula explained. “The kids initially couldn’t get their heads around it, but once they got it going, they’re excited about the project.”

“It’s really awesome, learning the different rhythms,” Schuler said of the band arrangement. “My friends in the jazz orchestra said the arrangement has been hard to learn. But hearing it, it makes me so happy.”

The jazz orchestra will premiere Love So Deep during its pre-concert and intermission sets at the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra’s City of Stars concert Sun., Feb. 11 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Then, the band will get down to recording the song.

“We’re crazy excited about it,” Kula said, adding that another former student, Juno Award winner Adrian Bradford, has agreed to mix and master the song. “We’ll make it as best we can, for our ability.”

For Kula, the project is one of many that he endeavours to put together each year for the students of River East’s music program.

“A collaborative project like this gives great insight into the whole process, it’s a fabulous way to look at what music making is from start to finish,” he said.

For Schuler, the experience is one that has emboldened her to follow her musical dreams.

“Mr. Kula not only gave me these opportunities, but also the confidence to go for them,” she said.