Peter Katz
JUNO-Nominated Musician, Facilitator and Storyteller
WORKSHOPS
AND TOPICS
Why I Seek Discomfort
Part concert, part talk, Juno Award and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter and 2-time TEDx fellow Peter Katz uses his journey from nervous first-timer at the open mic to playing to thousands of people all over the world, to show how he discovered the direct correlation between the moments of greatest discomfort and fear in his life, and his moments of greatest discovery and growth. What’s on the other side of that cloud called fear? What happens when you do something you thought you were too afraid to do? As it turns out, our biggest challenges are our biggest opportunities, and through his songs and stories, Peter gives permission to his audience to bravely take on their own challenges and in doing so, discover the important lessons and hidden joys that they contain.
Please note: Within the context of the talk, upon request, Peter is able to incorporate sections that specifically address: mental health, creative process, career selection and bullying. Peter is also able to adapt to further theme requests (don’t be shy, he loves the challenge).
Songwriting: Finding Your Way In
Over the course of the 60-90 minute workshop, Juno-Award nominated singer-songwriter Peter Katz will give students a glimpse into the songwriting process. He will teach them first the fundamentals of song components (verse, chorus, bridge) using popular songs that they’ll recognize, and then they will discuss choices that can be made in the creation process that affect the impact of the song on the listener (tempo, major/minor chords, dynamics). Once these basic concepts are in place, Peter and the group will then take that newfound knowledge and apply it to creating the beginnings of a song together. Students will be able to see that the creation process is fun, free-flowing, and contains infinite possibilities. With the older students, concepts like similes/metaphors will also be discussed to add greater depth to the lyrics.
Ideal group size is no more than 25 per session, but some flexibility there is possible. Preference would be to do multiple sessions with smaller groups to ensure that all students are able to get hands-on with the songwriting process.
