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Mandy Lagan
After graduating from Mohawk College Music Department Mandy went to McMaster University and got her B.A. in music. She began taking herself seriously as a singer in 1990 when she moved out of Hamilton and into Toronto and formed a band in order to work on some of her favourite music as well as develop her own compositions.
In 2002 she released her first CD, "I Thought About You", a collection of jazz standards and two originals. In 2003 she released her second CD, "You See Me", a selection of five jazz standards and five originals. She has been performing around Ontario at various venues and festivals, working with some of Canada's finest, David Braid, Nancy Walker, Dave Restivo, Keiran Overs, Jim Vivian, Barry Romberg, Kevin Dempsey, David Occhipinti, Andrew Downing, Kevin Turcotte, to mention a few. Her latest project is "Verses" for which she received financial support from The Canada Council for the Arts and The Ontario Arts Council.
"VERSES" is a selection of poems taken from Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses" written in 1885. While the lyric comes from children's poetry, the music speaks to poetry lovers of all ages. Combining this classic children's poetry with musical composition brings the poems to another realm of artistry. The end result is a collection of vignettes that blur the boundaries of jazz, folk and classical music while enhancing the poems' identity. “Verses” is full of intelligent creative writing, imaginative arrangements, and superb, intuitive musicianship, that is tastefully and respectfully presented.
This enchanted collection of songs features the compositional and playing skills of David Occhipinti (guitar), Andrew Downing (bass), Nancy Walker (piano), Joe Lagan (piano), and Carl Horton (piano), along with performances by Kevin Turcotte (trumpet), Blair MacKay (percussion), Ross Wooldridge (clarinet) and The Madawaska String Quartet.
Tags
“Folksinger was too limiting a term to describe Joni Mitchell, just as Mandy Lagan, in pushing the boundaries in new and original ways, is no mere jazz vocalist. This combination makes Lagan's project "The Joni Book" a must-listen — make that "must" experience - for music fans from both schools.” Mark Rheaume - CBC Radio
Primary Instrument
Vocals
Location
Toronto
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
Mandy has been teaching classical piano to children and adults for over 35 years. She is a graduate of Mohawk College-music department and McMaster University with a BA in music. She offers: group classes, 6 keyboards-6 students private lessons (children and adults)
Photos
Music
Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
My Old Man
From: The Joni BookBy Mandy Lagan