CREDIT: JUNOAWARDS.CA
With London hosting the 2019 Juno Awards, Fanshawe's Music Industry Arts (MIA) students will have many opportunities in their reach.

Many in the London community were excited to hear the announcement that in March of 2019 the 48th annual Juno awards, along with all the Juno week festivities will be hosted here in London, Ont. The ceremonies will be held at Budweiser Gardens with many of the festivities taking place in various venues in the area.

This was huge news for the London community, especially its music scene, as it will open up many opportunities for local acts and others involved in the music industry. This includes opening many exciting windows of opportunity for those in Fanshawe's Music Industry Arts (MIA) program. Allowing them to network, gain recognition and be involved in all the excitement leading up to such a prestigious event.

MIA program co-ordinator Dan Brodbeck has been heavily involved in the Juno ceremonies in the past as both a member of the selection committee and as a nominee and Juno winner himself. This year, Brodbeck is a part of London's Host Committee, where he will be working on ways to get the community involved and also integrate the MIA students into the festivities next year. “It's a little too early to say, but we know it's going to end up being a part of the curriculum,” Brodbeck said. “All of the seminars and guests that come, we could possibly have them coming here too during Juno week or also have [the students] going out there.”

Considering that Fanshawe's MIA program was recently named the best music school in Canada at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards last year, there couldn't be a better time for this event to be happening in London. “Everybody in Canada in the music industry knows about Fanshawe's MIA, it's historically the biggest recording program of its kind… there's so many well-rounded [students] that we could probably get the entire student body doing something different and still be involved. So, I think that from the industry standpoint…it'll be a quick sort of reminder of what we can do,” Brodbeck said.

London's Music Development Officer, Cory Crossman also shared his thoughts on the opportunities this event would open for Music Industry Arts students. “This is a once in a lifetime kind of experience…There's so many volunteer opportunities so I [know MIA students will] be able to get involved and get engaged…because the industry's here,” Crossman said.

He also shared that although this event is a first for London, it has been a long time coming and is due to the vast history of London's music industry, which includes Fanshawe's MIA program.

“Look at [areas such as] the Music Industry Arts program [and] how deep those roots are… It's so impressive to see how many people are working in the music industry who came through London,” Crossman said.

Notable first year student Skylar Shelley is grateful to be a part of the MIA program during this exciting time. “There's a lot of music students in particular in London and I feel like this is an awesome opportunity for everyone to really get a behind the scenes look at the Juno [Awards]…[and see] how it actually affects the town that it comes to…The number of people that it's bringing and the opportunities that it'll bring for musicians is just crazy,” they said.

Although there's still a long way to go until the Juno Awards arrive in town, music and excitement are already starting to takeover in the local community and musical programs like Fanshawe's MIA course. Keep your eyes peeled on Interrobang for future updates on the Juno Awards and other news surrounding them.