Rick Fenton joins MusicOntario as the new Executive Director
The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Fenton as the new Executive Director of MusicOntario.
“On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors, I can say that we are thrilled to have someone of such high calibre as Rick to join our team,” says Stuart Johnston, President of CIMA. “With Rick’s skill set, background and experience, he is well positioned to grow MusicOntario into a strong and vibrant association that will more than serve the needs of Ontario’s music industry.”
Rick will assume his new position as Executive Director in June. For the last six years, Rick has served as the Executive Director of the Western Canadian Music Alliance and the BreakOut West Festival, Conference and the Western Canadian Music Awards.
“I’m very excited by the opportunity as the new Executive Director of Music Ontario. I have been lucky enough to work closely with the Music Industry Associations across the country, as well as our creative musical and industry communities, and I look forward to my new role back in my home province,” says Rick. “I have been a long-time fan and supporter of CIMA and working within the organization brings an extremely high level of expertise, knowledge and credibility to the table. I also look forward to engaging with long time colleagues and forging new relationships in this large, diverse and energetic market.”
For over 30 years Rick has made his living in the music Industry. Starting out as a musician in the late 1970s, he landed at the CBC in 1981 where he was a network music producer in Calgary, Toronto, and Edmonton. Rick moved to Winnipeg in 2001 to take on the position of Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. After four seasons at the festival he started his own company and produced television shows and live events for the Olympics, JunoFest, the Queens visit, Premier’s Conference and many others. Rick was also a consultant for CanWest, helping develop the Raise a Reader Concert series and the CanSpell National Spelling Bee events and television program.
Rick’s other home over the years has been the recording studio, where he’s produced over 20 albums for artists as diverse as Big Dave Mclean, Greyhound Tragedy, Bill Bourne, and Ian Tyson. Despite all advice to the contrary he still plays in the highly unanticipated pub rock band, “The Angry Dads”
MusicOntario is a non-profit, membership-based division of the Canadian Independent Music Association. As a provincial music industry association, its mission is to provide professional development, industry education, information and support to the music industry of Ontario, and in particular to emerging artists. For more information on MusicOntario, please visit www.music-ontario.ca.