News Article

Best guitarist named best music educator


11/18/2003 10:05:22 AM


Neil Bishop was named the 2003 Music Educator of the Year.

November 18, 2003 - Neil Bishop has long been considered by those in the music industry as one of the best guitarists this province has ever produced. Now he’s being hailed as its best music educator as well.

Bishop, who teaches in the Recording Arts program at College of the North Atlantic’s Bay St. George campus, was named Music Educator of the Year during the 2003 Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador’s annual convention, held the November 8th weekend at Rocky Harbour on the province’s Northern Peninsula. And while he greatly appreciates the acknowledgement the award represents, he says his true satisfaction comes from being in the classroom.

“Getting this award and being named Music Educator of the Year is a bonus,” he says. “But I enjoy what I do and I get to work with some of the brightest young talent in the country and really, that’s reward enough.”

Bishop’s career in music spans four decades, the details of which could make for an interesting novel. But the story of how he came to teaching is also an interesting chapter in his life.

“I was actually studying Computer Science at what was then Westviking College (now College of the North Atlantic) and was approached to submit ideas for new program possibilities,” he says. “Around the same time I had done a few sessions with the Journalism students about microphones and recording and enjoyed that experience. Also, I had felt for some time that with the proliferation of studios, festivals and theatre venues in this province, that sound and recording training would be feasible.”

That was eight years ago, when most of the music industry was still using analog tape for recording. Today, digital is the standard and recording equipment is constantly evolving and changing.

“The good news is that the basics of microphone techniques and signal flow are as important as ever, if not even more so as digital recording is noise free – you can’t hide mistakes with tape hiss,” he says. “We are keeping up with the hardware changes too, but my focus is still on the basics. The other major change is that we are focusing more and more on sound for film and video; the film industry is growing in this country and the job market for trained personnel is opening up as well.”

But it’s not just the recording equipment that is changing. Bishop says the entire music industry in Newfoundland and Labrador is evolving at a rapid pace.

“Provincially we have the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and for the Atlantic Region we have the East Coast Music Association, so we now have an infrastructure to raise the level of awareness of music and musicians in this area,” he says. “This is a great advance as our artists are getting the opportunity to actually get involved on the business end of the industry – and it is an industry and a business. Our programs (Recording Arts and Music Industry and Performance) focus on educating our students on that point – they have to see themselves as business people and entrepreneurs. That can sometimes be a hard sell to artists, but I think we are succeeding.”

Bishop says the music industry in general is in a state of change, particularly with the advent of the Internet.

“The opportunities are greater now for independent artists and we are giving our students the skills to cope with and take advantage of these changes,” he says.

And you don’t have to take Bishop’s word for it. Take a look at much of the upcoming talent in the province’s music industry – more and more of them are College of the North Atlantic alumni.

Whether they are graduates of Recording Arts or Music Industry and Performance – or both (students can complete both programs in only three years through transfer of credit), an increasing number of performers in Newfoundland and Labrador – and in other provinces – are finding success. For instance, the five man band Sinclair, based in Alberta, is comprised almost exclusively of CNA graduates and has thus far opened for Kim Mitchell, Honeymoon Suite and the Northern Pikes. They are currently working on their second album and are planning an East Coast tour in the spring.

“I’m afraid I can’t rate our program against others that may exist, but from what I’ve heard from our students, we rate very favourably,” says Bishop. “We are attracting a number of students from outside the province, so that speaks well for us.”

And while the music industry related programs at Bay St. George campus have established an excellent reputation, Bishop knows the success he and colleague Wade Pinhorn have had is the result of much external support.

“I have to thank the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador for their continuing support for all musicians in the province and also for their support of our Recording Arts and Music Industry and Performance programs,” he says. “I am proud to be a part of College of the North Atlantic’s growing arts-related programs. I want to thank Cyril Organ (campus administrator) and the program development department – the College recognizes that the arts in this province are part of a vital and growing industry and it continues to add programs pertinent to the industry. I have also been very fortunate in my career to have the support of my family; my parents encouraged my music, as has my wife Bess and my children Brian and Allison, even though it sometimes meant my being away quite often. It’s also very gratifying to have so many friends in the business, many of whom I still get the opportunity to work with.”

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