By Sian Shin
“Art is limitless: it has no boundaries or borders. Art is constantly changing and being reinterpreted. What at some point in time someone might think is not good can change into a piece of art. I like the fact that people can look at the same thing and get something different out of it.” – Denver Rawson
Growing up in Kelowna, Mr. Rawson discovered his passion for music at a young age. In high school, he made the decision to become a music teacher. After finishing his undergrad at the University of Victoria, Mr. Rawson pursued his career and became the Music Director of Lansdowne Middle School. Here, he conducted a variety of music groups including concert bands and strings groups, using his skill at playing brass instruments as well as a deep knowledge of orchestral work to help his students grow as artists.
Mr. Rawson’s journey to become a music teacher was sparked by his own high school music teacher Mr. Bryan Todd, who he credits with changing his life. In Mr. Rawson’s words, “the amount of extra time that he spent with his students to push us forward was absolutely invaluable”. With the help of Mr. Todd, Mr. Rawson found his love for jazz music in Grade 10 when he joined the jazz combo and began to immerse himself in the world of jazz. Although jazz was what pulled him into the world of music, Mr. Rawson later found that he had a love for all genres of music. He started writing music at university and rearranging and creating different versions of songs, such as “Rolling in the Deep.”
“Art is limitless: it has no boundaries or borders. Art is constantly changing and being reinterpreted. What at some point in time someone might think is not good can change into a piece of art. I like the fact that people can look at the same thing and get something different out of it.” – Denver Rawson
Growing up in Kelowna, Mr. Rawson discovered his passion for music at a young age. In high school, he made the decision to become a music teacher. After finishing his undergrad at the University of Victoria, Mr. Rawson pursued his career and became the Music Director of Lansdowne Middle School. Here, he conducted a variety of music groups including concert bands and strings groups, using his skill at playing brass instruments as well as a deep knowledge of orchestral work to help his students grow as artists.
Mr. Rawson’s journey to become a music teacher was sparked by his own high school music teacher Mr. Bryan Todd, who he credits with changing his life. In Mr. Rawson’s words, “the amount of extra time that he spent with his students to push us forward was absolutely invaluable”. With the help of Mr. Todd, Mr. Rawson found his love for jazz music in Grade 10 when he joined the jazz combo and began to immerse himself in the world of jazz. Although jazz was what pulled him into the world of music, Mr. Rawson later found that he had a love for all genres of music. He started writing music at university and rearranging and creating different versions of songs, such as “Rolling in the Deep.”
In 2007, Mr. Rawson founded the Capital City Big Band in Victoria, conducting and playing with that group for about 5 years. In addition to his wonderful work as a conductor, Mr. Rawson also has extensive experience playing his trombone. His performances include playing with Bučan Bučan, a Balkan Brass Marching Party Band, which he described as, “very theatrical with a lot of suspenders-wearing and mustaches”, to playing with the well-known Canadian indie singer-songwriter Jon-Rae Fletcher in the Jon-Rae and the River Band, with which he toured across the country for the album “Oh Maria”. Some other artists and groups that Mr. Rawson has been involved in are Prairie Cat, Danton Jay, and Aquitania. For most of these groups, Mr. Rawson co-wrote and arranged their music.
As a new member to the Collingwood family, Mr. Rawson has great aspirations to enhance the music program. He states that he would like to make the music program as well-rounded as possible by taking advantage of the array of groups that can be created and further advanced in jazz, strings, and concert music. Mr. Rawson hopes to spread the joy of music and share his passion with as many students as possible.
To all budding artists, Mr. Rawson offers some very important words of wisdom, “It’s okay to make mistakes. People are so worried about making mistakes that they prevent themselves from letting their voices to be heard. Making mistakes is how we’ll make a place for ourselves in the world. Accepting that we’re not perfect and being okay with the things that we do and even messing up: that will help us grow.”
As a new member to the Collingwood family, Mr. Rawson has great aspirations to enhance the music program. He states that he would like to make the music program as well-rounded as possible by taking advantage of the array of groups that can be created and further advanced in jazz, strings, and concert music. Mr. Rawson hopes to spread the joy of music and share his passion with as many students as possible.
To all budding artists, Mr. Rawson offers some very important words of wisdom, “It’s okay to make mistakes. People are so worried about making mistakes that they prevent themselves from letting their voices to be heard. Making mistakes is how we’ll make a place for ourselves in the world. Accepting that we’re not perfect and being okay with the things that we do and even messing up: that will help us grow.”