Alicia Borisonik

ALICIA BORISONIK EDUCATOR BIO

Parallel to her profession as a musician and composer, Alicia has a 17 year long career as a music educator.

As a licensed Music Therapist, Alicia has worked with patients in hospitals. She has taught piano, guitar and violin both privately and in schools. She created a series of workshops, residencies and programs about Latin American music.

Her Latin-American Music workshops have been presented at Canadian Museum of Civilization, National Art Gallery, Nepean School of Music, The Ottawa Folklore Centre, The National Arts Centre, various branches of the Ottawa Public Library, community centres, Whitehorse Elementary School and many other schools in the Ottawa area and featured on TVOntario.

Along with her husband in 1994, Alicia founded Del Fuego a Latin American group for young audiences.

Over a period of four years Alicia was awarded four ARTISTS IN EDUCATION GRANTS from Ontario Arts Council and SOCAN to teach a program of music composition which she created. In 2002 she received an SPECIAL PROJECT IN SCHOOLS GRANT from Ontario Arts Council that allowed her to work for 3 months in local schools teaching songs and dances from Latin America. This project ended with an incredible performance at Fisher Park School in which almost 100 students took part.

Her latest success was during fall of 2003 and 2004 when Alicia was invited to Whitehorse, Yukon to perform with local musicians and also offer workshops and residencies in schools.

Alicia is involved in the "Learning Through the Arts" program (www.ltta.ca) and teaches piano with Ottawa Carleton District School Board's Continuing Education Program.

Whitehorse Star photo by Hal Ferriss

NEWS

Alicia received a grant from Canada Council for the Arts to travel to Argentina and be part of the Latino American Music Seminar organized by the FLADEM (Latin American Forum for Music Educators) Was an amazing experience in which Alicia met music educators and musicians from all over Latin America.

Alicia’s course MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR CHILDREN (funded by SOCAN Foundation) keeps getting school’s attention. She is offering the course this year at Dunlop School, Elmdale School and Foubert School.

She has been receiving support to offer this program from SOCAN FOUNDATION since 2002.

Alicia will be offering her SOUTH AMERICAN MUSIC workshops at: St Francis Assisi Catholic School, Broadview School, Knoxdale School, Prince of Peace Catholic School, and Avalon School. Watch the video of Alicia in action.

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

- Ottawa Folk Festival
- Ottawa International Jazz Fest
- Deep River Summer Festival
- Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
- Ottawa Children's Festival
- Canadian Tulip Festival
- National Aviation Museum
- Ottawa Public Library
- National Gallery of Canada
- Carnival of Cultures
- Toronto's Harbourfront
- Cndn Museum of Civilization
- Governor General of Canada
- TV Ontario (TVO Kids)

Concert and Workshop Packages

Concert of Argentinean music with Alicia Borisonik Band
Alicia accompanied by her 4 piece band and Argentinean dancer will take you on a musical journey through Argentina. From Tangos and Zambas to Bagualas, Alicia and her band perform on exotic and traditional instruments.

Concert of Latin American Music for children with DEL FUEGO
Whether playing in a small room for 25 or a festival venue to 2,500, Del Fuego delivers a memorable, hands-on, interactive show. Children are called up on stage to play instruments, sing, and dance with the band. The show is a musical journey through Latin- America, featuring Salsa, Bolero, Tango, Cumbia and of course, Cha Cha styles, so get ready to join the conga line!

Workshops of Latin American Music
Latin American Percussion and Grooves: Get to know the different and exciting rhythms from Latin America trough a professional Latin American percussionist. This is a hands on workshop where you will learn the basics of playing Congas, Bongos, timbale, claves and other percussion instruments focusing in group playing. Also we will review the most important rhythms from the region like Cha-Cha, Bolero, Cumbia, Merengue, Samba and others. Impossible to stay seated in this workshop!!.

Workshop for adults Let's have fun learning Spanish music!
This is a workshop for adults who are interested in having an introduction to Latin American music. No musical experience is necessary but there are a couple of requirements; to be young at heart and to want to have fun and learn. Give yourself the opportunity to sing even if it is out of tune! We will work with basic music concepts, play instruments from different parts of the world, learn Latin rhythms, sing in Spanish and much more...

Music workshops for children
This workshop is geared toward any age group and provides children with a unique opportunity to learn about listen to and even play several percussion instruments, which have been collected from all over the world. After the demonstration children will explore several elements of music such as pitch, beat and tempo through active participation in a variety of kinetic games and activities.

One week residency in schools
Music from Latin America
One week residency (grade 1 to 8)
Students will learn songs and rhythms from different countries in Latin America. They'll also learn about culture and traditions from other countries. At the end of the residency, a concert will be performed for the rest of the school.

Argentinean Tango Workshop
Argentinean Tango, the dance of Buenos Aires, is currently at its highest peak of popularity. Its expression is not based on physical mastery or technical purity, but in communication and improvisational skills of the dance partners.

This workshop is directed to everybody who (no matter their age or dance experience) wants to learn how to Tango, from an experienced Argentinean instructor with a tailor-made approach.

HISTORY OF DEL FUEGO
The Gatineau based band DEL FUEGO was formed in 1994 by Alicia Borisonik and Andrew Thomas. After playing countless performances in schools and community centres, DEL FUEGO was invited to play in local festivals and other venues including those listed in the right hand column above.