As we approach the end of the year, OIART wishes you a warm and happy holiday season. As always, our grads have been busy finding success in the industry. Here are just a few highlights:

OIART Grad Jeff Pelletier - Phase One Studios Toronto

Jeff Pelletier (grad 2004) has continued his success at Phase One Studios in Toronto, assisting on major recording projects this year by Thornley, Finger Eleven, Rhianna and George Canyon. Jeff makes an annual trip to OIART to discuss his experiences with students and answer their questions. Congratulations Jeff!

OIART Grad Graham Van Pelt - Miracle Fortress Nominated for Polaris Prize

Congratulations to the band Miracle Fortress, the project of 2003 OIART graduate Graham Van Pelt. Since settling in Montreal, Graham formed the group Miracle Fortress, and released the album Five Roses on Secret City Records. Graham was nominated for this year's prestigious Polaris Prize, along with label mate Patrick Watson, The Arcade Fire, Feist, The Dears and Joel Plaskett among others. Last year’s winner was Final Fantasy. The Polaris Prize is one of the most unique and respected prizes in music today, as it "honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music by recognizing, then marketing the albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history..."

Graham has recently been touring with fellow Montreal band Stars. You can hear his music on the Polaris Prize site, and the Secret City records site:
http://www.polarismusicprize.ca/nominees/?id=MiracleFortress
http://www.secretcityrecords.com/miracle.html

OIART Grads Chris O'Driscoll and Adam Bell - Streamlogics, Toronto

Streamlogics.com recently added two OIART 2007 grads, Chris O'Driscoll and Adam Bell, to their webcast production team. Streamlogics handles webcasting and podcasting for numerous high end corporations such as Research in Motion (RIM), BMO, ING Financial, Coca Cola, Microsoft and even the American Bar Association and the Tennessee House of Representatives.

OIART Grad Jeremy Pollock - Theatre D Digital, Toronto

OIART graduate Jeremy Pollock (2005) of Theatre D Digital recently assisted in the rewiring of the Royal Cinema in Toronto. The theatre was completely renovated to turn it into a film mix room. Jeremy says "I was lucky enough to be a part of that process and help calibrate the whole system. We have a top of the line Christie HD projector, one of only two in Ontario thus far, and we installed a new (Digidesign) Icon console to mix audio post right in the theatre on the big screen.

Each of the editing suites is hardwired right to the theatre so you can edit your film and go into the theatre to see how it looks on a 45ft screen." Jeremy has met and worked with some of the top Canadian film talent today: Bruce MacDonald, Atom Egoyan, Don McKellar, and Nickolas Campelle to name a few. "Pretty cool for someone like me who is into film so much. Theatre D has pretty much worked with anyone who is anyone in the Canadian industry." says Jeremy. Best of luck in the future! http://www.theatred.com/

OIART Grad Joel Martin on Canadian Idol

A familiar face to OIART appeared on Canadian Idol this year! 2005 OIART graduate Joel Martin, performed an ironic acoustic version of the Sir-Mix-Alot rap hit "Baby Got Back" which "had the Idol judges in stitches." Joel’s performance also made the cut for the show’s “Best Of” episode. Joel's group Distant Society released an EP this year entitled "The Calm." You can read more about it and see the Canadian Idol performance here: http://www.myspace.com/distantsociety

Grad Paul Bell—DaCapo Productions, Winnipeg

OIART grads find work all over Canada, in every industry related to audio—and sometimes in several areas at once! Paul Bell (Grad 2006) is working in Winnipeg at DaCapo productions, on both audio for animation and music recording! In addition to working on projects for the Life Network and Discovery Network, Paul has been working on a South African cartoon called Supa Strikas, which will be broadcast mostly in South Africa and a few South American countries.

Paul is also working on another program geared towards younger kids from South Korea. He describes the project as having “phenomenal 3D animation, (which will give) Shrek a run for its money.” Paul will also be engineering some of the sessions for the CD version of a musical theatre project and has assisted on sessions with Juno nominated artist Jon Buller. Congrats Paul! http://www.dacapo.ca/