Discipline: Music
Homebase: Vancouver
Regions Available: Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley &, Howe Sound, Vancouver Island Lower, Vancouver Island Mid, Vancouver Island North, Interior, North, Remote, Kootenays, Virtual
Languages: English, French
Grant Eligibility: Eligible for 70% AIE
Will Stroet of Will's Jams is a JUNO-nominated bilingual singer-songwriter, educator and former CBC Kids TV star. Since 2005, Will's performed more than 2,000 shows in schools, theatres and festivals across Canada and in China. In addition to his popular English, French and bilingual school shows of original music, Will also leads popular songwriting workshops in both languages. Will is repeatedly booked by school districts for bilingual and French concerts. His school concerts will include new songs from his most recent English and French collaborations, with fellow bilingual artist and educator, Seeka Sings, called "Will et Seeka: Amis avec tout le monde" and "Will and Seeka: Friends with Everyone."
Available all year-round and tours as a 3-piece band.
School Year: 24-25
Discipline: Music
Offered Languages: English, French
Grade Suitability: K - 7
Duration: 45 min. + Q&A
Capacity: 500
Tech Requirements: Access to an electrical outlet; can perform on a stage or gym floor; brings all own sound gear.
Available Formats: In Person, Virtual
Will offers interactive, English, French or bilingual concerts with his 3-piece band, featuring his most popular educational songs from his 12 nationally acclaimed albums. The show also features some hits from his WCMA-nominated collaboration with Seeka Sings, Will & Seeka: Amis avec tout le monde | Friends with Everyone." Over the past decade touring schools, Will has developed top-notch shows with audience participation, fun wordplay, sign language and sing-along choruses. His music explores themes of literacy, creativity, math, science, art and living a healthy and active lifestyle--all of which ties into B.C.'s integrated curriculum. In addition, Will offers several virtual programs for schools and classes to access during the school year through the Arts IQ platform: professionally pre-recorded Will's Jams bilingual, English and French concerts with his band; and a new virtual French music program called "Will et Seeka: Amis avec tout le monde," which includes lyric music videos, downloadable French songs, instrumental tracks and printable activity sheets. For more info, visit www.artsiq.ca/willetseeka and www.artsiq.ca/wills-jams.
School Year: 24-25
Discipline: Music, Writing
Offered Languages: English, French
Grade Suitability: K - 7
Duration: 1 day: 4-5 sessions x 45-minutes or a class block
Capacity: 30
Tech Requirements: whiteboard and markers
Available Formats: In Person
As a former music teacher who has been leading songwriting workshops for children across Canada and in China, Will has developed a fun and effective method to harness children's creativity in writing songs. His interactive workshops involve critical thinking, creative writing, call and response, actions, presentation skills as well as performance and recording opportunities. Will teaches students about the basics of songwriting including: lyric, chorus and verse composition; rhythm and rhyme schemes; and melody. By the end of the session, students will have collaboratively composed a song that is performance ready. The song topic can be tied to any curricular theme. The duration, number of sessions and classes can be determined between the artist and school but typically involves 4-5 sessions x 45-min/day with one class/session. Inquire about full-day or multiple-day workshops with Kim at bookings@pebblestarartists.com. For multi-day sessions, there is an option to do simple recording of the students' song(s). For schools outside the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley & Howe Sound, additional travel fees may be added on top of the workshop fee as he will be touring as a 3-pc band.
School Year: 24-25
As a former music teacher who has been leading songwriting workshops for children across Canada and in China, Will has developed a fun and effective method to harness children's creativity in writing songs. His interactive workshops involve critical thinking, creative writing, call and response, actions, presentation skills as well as performance and recording opportunities. Will teaches students about the basics of songwriting including: lyric, chorus and verse composition; rhythm and rhyme schemes; and melody. By the end of the session, students will have collaboratively composed a song(s) that is performance ready. The song topic can be tied to any curricular theme. The duration, number of sessions and classes can be determined between the artist and school but typically involves 4-5 sessions x 45-min/day with one class/session. Available in French and/or English is suitable for grades K-7. Inquire with Kim at bookings@pebblestarartists.com. For more info, visit www.willsjams.com.
"Will's Jams was a great show for our school. Will and the band were professional and easy to work with and the show connected with the students right from the start. Will's experience as a teacher and performer allowed him to move between songs and activities easily. He was an excellent at regaining control of his audience after having the students highly energized after his songs. My grade 6/7 students talked about it as being the best show they had ever seen." Malcolm Fleeton, administrator/teacher, Port Hardy
Will put on an amazing show. The kids were moving, singing and fully engaged the whole time! His mix of both French and English lyrics worked perfectly for our French immersion school and it was done seamlessly! Will is a true performer and I would happily welcome him to perform at any school. Heather Cairns, Toronto principal
Willl is an amazing artist. His wordplay and rhymes make us smile and his shows are always energetic. His songs are fun and talk about themes that kids can identify with, such as technology, physical activity, nutritious food and spending quality time with family. Being a former teacher, Will has a great command of the audience and has an effective way to get students participating while also bringing them back to focus. Cynthia Ramamonjisoa, Vice-Principal, Vancouver