Tag Archives: Michael Williams

CityTV Premieres New Series About Forgotten Black Canadian History

A new five-part docu-series called Black Community Mixtapes produced by OYA Media Group will premiere on CityTV Toronto (and across the country) on Sunday Sept. 24 at 7pm EST. The television series breathes new life into the personal archives gathered by individual Canadians to shine a light on life-changing moments in Black Canadian history.  Created and directed by the award-winning Canadian filmmaking team of Alison Duke and Ngardy Conteh George (pictured below), the show explores the cultural riches of Black Canadian history that are often stored and forgotten in crates, file folders and photo albums that have never been documented or recognized by national institutions. Says Duke (pictured below)….“We are not just filmmakers. We are first and second generation Canadians who actively try to better understand Canadian history. Producing films within the Black community for over 20 years gave us incredible access to personal archives which have helped to fill in the gaps. I hope that people see this series as a stepping stone to learning more about Black history here in Canada and that it sparks curiosity in all us to dive deeper into our own family’s archives.”The series follows KhaRå Martin, a young Toronto filmmaker, musician and actor, who embarks on a quest to rediscover Canada’s Black history and as host of the show, she speaks to Black Canadian archivists, musicians, artists and cultural change makers as they walk us through the rich world of Black Canadian culture. Here’s a sneak peak…

Some of the most notable people featured include former Much Music VJ’s  Michael Williams and Master T as well as radio deejays DJX and Ron Nelson. Other cultural icons from the Black community include nine time carnival queen Joella Chrighton, screenwriter and playwright Motion, artist Natalie Wood, photographer Michael Chambers, writer George Elliot Clark, cultural centre owner Itah Sadu and Vintage Black Canada archivist Aaron Francis.

Congratulations to OYA Media and the team….I can’t wait to watch and learn!
Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackcommunitymixtapes

 

HEART & VISION AWARDS HONOUR LT.GEN’L ROMÉO DALLAIRE & DR. MARY JO LEDDY

This past Monday evening, the Toronto United Church Council honoured 2 of the world’s leading humanitarian activists, Lt. General Roméo Dallaire and Dr. Mary Jo Leddy, for their dedication to human rights by presenting them with Heart & Vision Awards.

Several hundred guests lined the pews of the Metropolitan United Church on Queen East (below)….

??????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????….as the evening’s MC, tv & radio personality Michael Williams (below) introduced the presenters and guest performers.

??????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????The world renowned Elmer Iseler Singers started off the concert with a beautiful rendition of  The Mi’Kmaq Song..

???????????????????????????????Rev. John Joseph Mastandrea (below) took the stage to open the proceedings….

???????????????????????????????and welcomed the two honourees (below)

???????????????????????????????VP of TUCC, Susan Smith  (below) was welcomed to the stage to talk about the evening and the honourees…

???????????????????????????????Susan also paid tribute to Vincent Alfano, the late Executive Director of TUCC (below) before introducing…

DSC00654….Alexa Gilmour (below) who spoke on the life and work of honouree, Dr. Mary Jo Leddy

???????????????????????????????…who was then joined at the podium by Michael Kooiman (below), minister of Central United Church in Weston for the presentation.

???????????????????????????????Dr. Mary Jo Leddy received her Heart & Vision Award, created by Canadian stained glass artist Dianne MacLeod, then spoke at great length about her work with refugees.

??????????????????????????????? DSC00743The Elmer Iseler Singers took the stage again, and Thom Allison performed a moving song prior to the next honoree

???????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????Reverend Ron Ewart (below) then introduced the second Heart & Vision Award recipient, Lt. General Roméo Dallaire

???????????????????????????????…who was presented with the award by Susan Smith (below)

DSC00801 ???????????????????????????????…and he kept the crowd spellbound with his tales of war and survival.

???????????????????????????????After thanks were given to all the guests, event sponsors and performers, The Elmer Iseler Singers sang Psalm 148 then were joined by Thom Allison and opera star Jennie Such to end the concert with Make our Garden Grow.

DSC00878A wonderful post-concert reception was held in the church basement where UrbanSource Catering presented delicious hors d’oeuvres and wine.

??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? 20150511_215649While guests were enjoying all the tasty treats, General Dallaire was interviewed by SiriusXM Radio’s Kate Wheeler (below) in the church library for her show What She Said (with fellow former TV network news anchor Christine Bentley). UrbanSource Catering made sure they were well looked after with wine and a tray of food!

??????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????Here Kate’s interview with General Dallaire here: https://soundcloud.com/whatshesaid167/lieutenant-general-romeo-dallaire-joins-kate-wheeler

Ticket sales from the concert benefited the Community Relief Fund – you can find out more about the Toronto United Church Council’s work by visiting their website: http://tucc.ca/

If you would like more info on Toronto’s premier corporate and event caterers, Urban Source Catering, please visit their website: http://www.urbancatering.com/

Big thank you to my talented photographer, H.T. Jade Yeh, who shot most of the pics featured here. Please enjoy more photos from the event, including the great team of volunteers who worked hard to present a fabulous evening, the video and sound production team, Music Director Jason Jestadt and of course, I grabbed a few photos with some of the celebs attending (below). Here’s singer/songwriter Micah Barnes with snapd newspaper reporter Britney Townsend, then me with internationally renowned Canadian flutist Ron Korb.

20150511_190758 DSC00555

??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? DSC00610 ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? DSC00923 ??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? jsfWyvPAAl6GrDAmTglGJF9dr0iUSCffQXC3Dv6Th3U

20150511_192216Thank you to everyone who contributed….

DSC00513 ??????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????

 

CANADIAN MUSIC ICON MICHAEL WILLIAMS TO MC NEXT MONDAY’S “HEART & VISION” AWARDS CONCERT

I’ve known and worked with Michael Williams since the early 80’s when MuchMusic launched it’s all music TV channel across Canada. Michael was one of the founding veejays for Canada’s answer to MTV, covering live concerts and festivals and interviewing just about every living music legend we know. He’s pleased to be MC’ing the annual Heart & Vision Awards Concert, next Monday May 11 at the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto. This year’s award recipients are Lt. General Romeo Dallaire and Dr. Mary Jo Leddy  (ticket information at end of story)

Michael Williams Fall 1986Before the internet made us all so easily accessible, Michael became a household name across the country for hosting the popular Soul in the City series for MuchMusic (80’s thru 90’s), which was syndicated in 19 European countries and Japan, as well as The Power Hour and Electric Circus, also on the MuchMusic TV network. Michael has interviewed politicians, newsmakers and international recording artists and filmmakers including Stevie Wonder, Whitney Huston, Quincy Jones, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Queen, Metallica, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, and Mark Wahlberg. (Below, with Quincy Jones, with young country star Hunter Hayes, with Nile Rodgers & Quincy Jones and with Oscar & Grammy winning composer/singer Paul Williams)

MW,Quincy Jones at Jazz Educator Conference Toronto Toronto-20140Hunter Hayes Nile Rodgers,Quincy Jones ,Michael Williams

Paul Williams and MWNow a dynamic, talented music producer and host of talk radio and music-related radio and television programs, Michael appears frequently on Toronto’s tv news networks and radio, sitting in as guest host for Newstalk1010 radio talk shows. Michael is also a much-in-demand host and MC for fundraisers and galas, and has introduced such world luminaries as the Dalai Llama and Lt.-General Romeo Dallaire.  He has assisted in the audio mix of Living Color, Ice T and Burton Cummings live to air concerts, co-hosted the World Music Video Awards and the Much Music Video Awards and been a Presenter at the Juno Awards.

As owner of Michael Williams Productions Inc. (1993-Present), he has:

  • Created, produced and hosted the College of Musical Knowledge for 94.7 the Wave, Soul on the Beach for Cool 96 FM, Nassau, Bahamas, and Beach Network, ON
  • Wrote, produced and hosted Live at the Pearl Company for Cable 14 Hamilton
  • Co-producer, writer and voice for ten film shorts, Millennium Promise Project
  • Voiced 24 x one-minute shorts for Black History Month for Rogers national TV network
  • Co-hosted Cookin’ with Guests on Jazz FM
  • Guest lecturer, Centre for Creative Communications, Centennial College, and Faculty of Music, York University
  • Designed, developed, produced and delivered Music Business Overview, an introduction to the history of the music business from sheet music to DVD, International Academy of Design & Technology
  • Produced the symphony, Afroadia, performed by the Brampton Symphony Orchestra
  • Author of a weekly column Soul Session published in Canadian Music Network Magazine
  • Hosted Urban Music Seminar at Canadian Music Week for two consecutive years

Michael recently spoke during Black History Month (2015) with long-time pal and collaborator, Spider Jones (pictured below)

MW,Spider JonesJoin Michael on Monday May 11th (7:30pm) as the Toronto United Church Council presents the HEART & VISION AWARDS CONCERT – there are still some tickets available for concert only and the concert & reception:  https://www.facebook.com/events/658101637629824/

If you would like to book Michael to host your fundraising event or concert, please contact me at FordhamPR@rogers.com