THE MPC DIRECTORS –Their Music, Their Influences and Their Surprises
- mypopchoirsing
- Jun 8
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 12
The My Pop Choir Directors bring music and energy and humour to their choirs. But what fuels them musically? We asked them, and here is what they said.
(We have included links to their individual blogs too.)
Kent Andrews
Who do you listen to? My most recent download album is Discovery by Daft Punk. I am loving it and listening while I’m riding my new bike out towards Spanish Banks. I’m also loving a band called deary and their new album Birding is delightful – kind of an alternative sound but very reminiscent of ’80s epic ballads. The new Bruno Mars album, The Romantic, is fun. My latest has been kind of an alternative sound but very country, a band called Hurray for the Riffraff.
Time of day has everything to do with my music listening. I am rarely ready for music first thing in the morning but the exception would be if I am listening to something that is really meditative. I usually find my sweet spot in mid to late afternoon into the evening. Then I am all about the music –in the car if I’m commuting or at the gym.
Who are your influences? Early on my choral musical influences were black gospel – Fred Hammond, Kirt Franklin. I was immersed in that world for a very long time. Through My Pop Choir, I have gained appreciation and deep love for secular pop music. As my musical awareness opened up, I found myself drawn to so many different types of music.
What might surprise MPC singers? Before I started directing with MPC, I lived in Chicago and led a gospel choir with a live band for five years.
Mary Lynne Calvert
Who do you listen to? The music right through the ’60s and ’70s – that’s my jam. Chicago, Styx, Journey, Toto, Queen, the Eagles – I love all of that stuff.
I walk in the morning pretty much every day and listen to the playlist my son helped me make when I joined Spotify. He called it “Walking for Dummies.” The music has to have a specific beat because I am almost incapable of walking offbeat!
And I listen to oldies on the radio to help with tasks like cleaning out the linen closet.
What are your influences? My mom had an 8-track of Anne Murray. I remember thinking her voice is so easy. It’s not forced; it sounds resonant and rich without being strained. It was what I wanted to be, how I wanted to sing. I still love Anne Murrray.
I have always loved harmonies, which is what makes me so bad at karaoke. Just give me the lyrics, and without the music I don’t know what the melody is. So I just sing what I want to!
In my late teens, a major influence was Simon and Garfunkel. I went to their Toronto concert in the late ’90s and it’s still a pinnacle for me.
What might surprise MPC singers? I like hard rock – Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Ozbourne, Def Leppard. People think I should like Frank Sinatra and I do love the crooners, but I have that edgy bit!
Alex Fiddes
Who do you listen to? I spend every moment I can listening to music without exception – usually 22 hours a day. I have three different states for music – in the car, sleeping, and every other time. These days in the car I’m listening to Glen Hansard, Olivia Rodrigo's new singles for her upcoming album, Patrick Watson, the Sages album, Lizzy McAlpine. If we’re talking about vibes, when I want higher energy it’s closer to folk music, Irish, eastern European, namely Hania Rani. All the music I listen to tends to have a smoothness to it or a very complex, almost chaotic sound.
As for the more relaxing stuff, which is what I do whether cleaning the house or on my computer, it changes all the time. Often Max Corbacho or the soundscapes of Hammock. Rain soundscapes are great for sleeping, as is Corbacho and the sleep version of Jacob Collier’s “Something Heavy-Sleep Version.”
What are your influences? Coldplay was a major influence. In high school it was also Radiohead and Keane. Pink Floyd ‘s “The Dark Side of the Moon” I first discovered from a cheesy karaoke track online! When I was in college, one artist that stands out is Jamie Cullum, a great British jazz pianist and singer. In my 20s, it was Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens.
What might surprise MPC singers? As music composer and director for Sheridan College's production of Metamorphoses, in 2009, I learned to play the didgeridoo and the hydraulophone (google it!).
Jenn Kee
Who do you listen to? It’s not often that I will turn on music to relax or just have it on in the background. People who are making a living with music tend not to listen to it recreationally. The last couple of weeks I’ve been preparing for this Johnny Cash show so I was listening to a full diet of Johnny Cash. A lot of time I listen to music with the choir in mind too – would this make a good song for the choir? And I’m listening to a lot of Beatles right now as I’m getting ready to do a show in the fall in Petrolia.
What are your influences? I think my biggest influences were the female singers of the ’90s - Sarah McLachlan, Amanda Marshall, Shontelle, Jewel, Alanis Morissette. I was 13 or 14 when these ladies were popular and when you’re that age that’s the music that hits the hardest. At university it was classic rock like The Who, Led Zeppelin. I wasn’t into Pink Floyd until someone asked me to learn “The Great Gig in the Sky” – then it was OK here we go!
What might surprise MPC singers? I studied opera at university. First and foremost, I am a classically trained singer.
Aryana Jebely
Who do you listen to? On my playlist right now, there’s a mix of current and older stuff - Sabrina Carpenter, a little bit of Rihanna, Olivia Rodrigo. Female pop artists are really my thing. I grew up listening to Supertramp and Queen, so some of their songs are on my playlist too. And I really love Fleetwood Mac and Phoebe Bridgers. There’s a little bit of everything. When I want to relax, I listen to calming instrumentals. And for music to sleep to, I have a playlist of soft ballads from artists like Mumford & Sons, James Vincent McMorrow, Tom Odell, Jeremy Zucker and Joni Mitchell.
What are your influences? I have a collection of vinyl records that I started when I was 14. Ed Sheeran was the first, but it also includes the Gipsy Kings and Frank Sinatra – there’s a whole variety. Every birthday or Christmas my relatives and friends knew that I would want a record. Other favourites are Bruno Mars, Lizzy McAlpine and Amy Winehouse.
What might surprise MPC singers? I did not start singing in English, which is my second language, until I was seven. I listen to music in Farsi, my first language, all the time.
Doug Price
Who do you listen to? When I get home from a long day there is no music at my place. I might listen to podcasts and lately I’ve gotten into listing to various stand-up comedians. But I really need no music. It’s very difficult for my brain not to go into work mode as I work with music all day – at the piano, writing sheet music, coaching, accompanying.
What are your influences? When I do actively listen to music, it’s specifically to excite my brain. I love listening to film scores and especially those inspired by John Williams. I also love Ennio Morricone and his scores from the spaghetti westerns. One of my favourites is “The Ecstasy of Gold” from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Also Michael Giacchino and his work with Pixar – Ratatouille, Up, Inside Out.
In the musical theatre world, my influences include Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, Jeanine Tesori, Jason Robert Brown, and I think Andrew Lippa is a genius. It’s taboo in the music theatre world, but I don’t care – I love Andrew Lloyd Webber! He’s a brilliant melodist and he is business savvy, like no one else.
What might surprise MPC singers? When I am walking down the street, it’s only my music that I hear in my head. [Doug currently has five of his own musicals on the go.]
Jocelyn Regina
Who do you listen to? The playlist I go to most is of lullabies! [Jocelyn has two young children]. Otherwise, I have quite a wide range that I like. I even have playlists that I made years ago. I used to make one every year of the songs I listened to most over that year – like a time capsule. I stopped making those when my son was born!
If I want to relax, I listen to classical music. But when I can, I like keeping up with what’s new. NPR does New Music Fridays and I’ve discovered a lot of great albums from there that I wouldn’t otherwise have known about.
What are your influences? I studied classical music growing up so that had a big impact. And Joni Mitchell is a big influence because my mum loves her. Music theatre has been important in my life. It shows up in our writing for Lunar Bloom [the trio Jocelyn is a part of], in the way we do storytelling in our music.
I love listening to pop music and to R&B. Alicia Keys was big for me as a teenager, as well as Norah Jones. The older I get the more open-minded I get about what I like.
What might surprise MPC singers? Iain and I were in music theatre at Sheridan College together and we performed in the same shows. In fact, he was my roommate and we are still really good friends.
Iain Stewart
Who do you listen to? I often listen to different types of music at different times of day. Like when I wake up, I will listen to classical music. If I am doing chores, I will sometimes listen to electronic music, dance music or jazz singers that I like - Olivia Dean, Diana Krawl, Chet Baker, Melody Gardot, Lianne La Havas. I have an old playlist that I call steamy soul, with relaxing music like jazz or indie folk that I use to go to sleep. I gravitate towards things that we would never sing in choir just for balance.
What are your influences? Musical theatre was much more part of my life when I was younger, shows like Wicked and Avenue Q. I remember listening to the prologue of Into the Woods a thousand times. It really did have an effect on me. I listened to Queen’s greatest hits all the time and I went through a ska phase with bands like Sublime.
When I was at Sheridan, it was more indie stuff like Ingrid Michaelson, Beirut. I like things that are just a little bit innovative and a little bit different than the usual pop music.
What might surprise MPC singers? I like hard rock like the Italian band, Maneskin.
Beau Wheeler
Who do you listen to? I don’t bother making playlists – I follow my inspiration as I go through. I like to drink from the firehose of music, listening pretty much all day long and all night long! It’s important as a songwriter to listen widely so that you have your own style. When I worked in a record store, I worked my way through all the departments. Then I spent the next 20 or 30 years trying to listen to many different styles, to move outside rock and pop.
What are your influences? I grew up listening to the pop music of the ’80s. And I was obsessed with The Beatles from the age of eight. High school was the grunge era and then classic rock like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and the ’70s singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. In university I discovered gamelan, which is an Indonesian high art orchestra, made up of tuned percussion instruments.
What might surprise MPC singers One thing that really interests me is the oscillation between acoustic-based and synth-based pop music. [Beau’s two albums reflect this artistic dichotomy: Flying Colours is an acoustic album recorded live with their band and Trans is a dark wave synth pop album where Beau performs all of the instrumentation and vocals, with producer Jason Corbett.]
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