Steve Bellamy

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Slide - 50 Years, 50 Voices - Steve Bellamy - 00:00
My name’s Steve Bellamy. I started going to UPEI in 1990 and after a year
of Science I switched over into the Bachelor of Music Program. And
graduated in 1995 from the Bachelor of Music degree.


Slide - Small Advantages - 00:20
One of the things I remember most about my time at UPEI was the access that
I had to professors. I really appreciated that, right from day one, and
appreciated even more after I left and went on to grad school elsewhere.
And I think it has to do with the smallness of the school and what an
advantage that was, that professors were available all the time, we got to
know them very well and we really had access to them for conversation and
follow up on everything we were learning. That was something that sticks
with me more than most things. During my time as an undergraduate music
student at UPEI, I really got a chance to learn about camaraderie and
teamwork and professionalism. One of the advantages I felt of being there
was that because there weren’t hundreds and hundreds of us in the music
program we all had a lot of time together, we had a lot of performance
time. We played in a number of ensembles, performed in choirs and played
your instrument in different types of bands and groups so it was really a
wonderful and varied experience with a small group of people so you really
got to know each other very well and we were contacted to the community.
The music program ensembles got to perform around Charlottetown, around the
Island and elsewhere and it was just a really rich  experience of activity,
more so then I got later at larger institution.


Slide - Laying a Foundation - 01:58
Well, there’s no question to me, that the time at UPEI really laid the
groundwork for everything that came after for my career. I’ve been really
fortunate to live in some wonderful places in Canada and work with some
wonderful artists in Montreal and Toronto and Banff and elsewhere.
There’s no question that my time at UPEI, in the program and with those
folks really laid the groundwork in giving me the skills for working
closely with artists, taking a personal approach to professional work and
making sure that regardless of the situation, regardless of how sort of
serious or big the show is it's still people; the arts are a people
industry; it’s about people, it’s about expression. There was such a
close community at UPEI and such great communication that I really got a
good grounding in I think how to collaborate and how to have a people first
approach so even though now I find myself principally as an arts
administrator and working in that side of the industry, I still apply those
exact same skills and those same approaches to all of my colleagues here at
the Centre and I’ve done that through my career as a music producer as
well and my approach to working with artists.


Slide - Special Place for Family - 03:22
UPEI’s actually had an effect on me since before I was a student. It was
the reason my family moved to Prince Edward Island. Back in 1985 when they
opened the Atlantic Veterinary College my father was offered a job there so
we moved here from Saskatchewan. My two brothers and myself and my sister
all went to UPEI at various times. My father worked the rest of his career
there so we're very close to the institution. It holds a special place for
our family. A lot of good memories there.


Slide - Music Program - 03:59
So one of the things that I love about the UPEI music program, in
particular, is how connected it is to the community and I remember from my
time there going through with a number of musicians that I see today,
having moved back to the Island 25 years later and I see that people like
Mark Parsons are teaching music in the school system and Brian Langille and
there are a number of people that I went through school with that are now,
and have been for many years, leaders in the music community here on the
Island. I think it's one of the special things about the program at UPEI,
where faculty and students practice a type of mentorship and connection to
the community that really keeps music alive; in terms of music education
and the pursuit of professional musicianship here on the Island where music
is such an ingrained part of the culture. UPEI is such an important piece
of that and an important contributor to making sure that music continues at
a professional level across the Island s really happy to be part of that
history. Happy to come back. One of my old teachers, Dave Shepard is here
at the Centre still playing percussion in the pit orchestra for the shows
and you know, those kinds of things are just wonderful to see, the legacy
of that place.


Slide - Playing Professionally - 05:24
A really special memory for me about those years at UPEI was the early 90s
for me and as a music student, I met some of my really closest friends and
collaborators for those years that I was performing and principally playing
music. Was able to meet like Brian Langille and Kirk White, Jim OLeary and
Craig Goodik. There were a number of people up there that we formed bands
and we played around Charlottetown and around Prince Edward Island and that
was a really special time because we got our feet wet professionally. And
we learned alot about what it takes to work hard and put something together
and to play in front of people and take criticism and it was a wonderful
beginning to a career in music. 


Slide - Partnering with UPEI -  06:16
UPEI, on the whole, plays such an important role for Prince Edward Island
as one of the two major, large post secondary institutions and my hope here
at Confederation Centre of the Arts is that we can find some formal and
informal ways of partnering with the University; just as we’ve
established some partnerships with Holland College. I would love to see the
three of us institutions getting together in a number of ways to help
support the arts and culture sector in PEI, and the heritage sector as
well. We’ve had some exciting conversations with President Alaa and I’m
just really looking forward to the future and working with the institution.



Slide - Final Thoughts - 07:02
Well reflecting on UPEI, I mean the past 50 years, it’s wonderful to be
part of this and as I look back on the few decades and what I’ve seen
unfold at UPEI, I just, I am excited for the future of the institution. I
think it's really headed down a exciting path of growth and innovation.
But, I also think we’re entering into an era where the size of an
institution matters less. I think decades ago it was difficult to compete
with large institutions in large centres because you could argue that those
places had access to more, let's say a broader variety of faculty members.
And, now in this age access isn’t as much of an issue and I would argue,
the role of professors is changing too; rather, then being the holder of
knowledge, to being a guide through learning. I think that UPEI has a
really distinct advantage because when your role is to guide the next
generation through learning, being a smaller place with more contact is a
real distinct advantage. So, personally, I am very excited about the future
for UPEI. I’m a proud graduate and proud to be part of its history and I
can’t wait to see what’s coming.