‘Changing the World’ through music

Shy-Anne Hovorka’s swift rise as an up-and-coming singer-songwriter has been “nonstop work, but worth every minute of it.”
For the third year in a row Hovorka is nominated for the Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards. She has also been chosen by APTN for First Tracks 2010, a 30-minute program featuring Aboriginal music videos expected to air this fall.
Matt Popowich’s video of her single, Can’t Change the World, already has over 12,000 views on the video sharing website, YouTube.
Hovorka said response to the video has been incredible.
“It hit a chord with so many people,” Hovorka said.
After performing the song for a city council meeting in Thunder Bay, Hovorka said Coun. Aldo Ruberto approached her and offered his support, which led to sponsorship from the City of Thunder Bay. That, as well as support from TBayTel and Bearskin Airlines, has helped promote the song and Hovorka’s work. Her latest album, Pseudo, was released in May.
Hovorka’s vision was to show people from various ages and walks of life working together to make a better world.
“I actually didn’t want to be on that video,” she says. “I wanted it to be about the little girl, to show that the youth are trying, too. But my band members insisted that I have to be on my own video.”
Hovorka and her band performed the song at the G-8 Interfaith Summit in Winnipeg in June.
She is working with Popowich on a new video for her song, Unloveable, a song she wrote last year in Red Lake after the end of a relationship.
In addition to the video and planning for fall tours, she is working with her band on a third album. She said it’s a constant challenge to combine artistic integrity with marketability.
She said her touring and recording schedule has been non-stop since July 19.
“I’m still enjoying the wave.”
A former teacher, she finds the best part of her experience as a performer is working with the kids. She and her band tour schools “as far north as Attawapiskat and all the way to White Dog,” talking to students about the seven grandfather teachings, healthy lifestyles, addictions and following their dreams. In the evenings they perform, encouraging youth to perform with them.
Hovorka said they choose youth from each location to take part in a showcase in Thunder Bay, playing at the Paramount Theatre. Twenty-three youth have been chosen.
“Watching the kids performing at the Paramount and seeing their excitement and cheering each other on – I can’t put words to it.”
She said last year’s winner was hired to tour with Hovorka as a performer. “He understands about the healthy lifestyle.”
Music and teaching have always been in Hovorka’s blood. She composed her first song at the age of nine on a Fisher-Price toy piano. At 12 she and her sister started a free music camp for neighbor kids. The camp involved teaching songs and harmonies and taking the children on musical field trips. The camps lasted for three or four weeks of the summer. “The parents loved it. It was free babysitting.”
She stresses talent and interest are not enough to succeed in the music business. At the age of 16 she got a job while in school so she could drive from Red Lake to Ear Falls for training in piano, voice and theory. At the same time she played flute and saxophone in two high school bands. Later, she got her honours bachelor of music at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay before obtaining her bachelor of education.
“It’s all about determination. To be a musician, you got to put a lot of work in.”
She also credits the Children’s Aid Society in Kenora, Ont., which purchased 100 of her CDs and promoted her as a success story for the foster system.
“They helped me get my foot in the door in lots of communities.”
Although Hovorka has performed with Tomson Highway and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, a highlight was performing with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
“The Winnipeg Symphony played my own songs. That was incredible.”
Being one of the few musicians selected to attend the Aboriginal Programming in Music Camp also helped her career.
“That’s when I learned how it’s done. You have to lay your own groundwork. It’s hard to promote yourself. It’s a fine line between arrogance and not helping yourself.”
Born a Matachewan band member, Hovorka learned her love and concern for children from her adoptive family.
“They are unbelievable people, very caring. More than 50 kids have gone through that home and they still foster children.
They put the kids first, and went out of their way to put us in touch with our Aboriginal roots and community.”
Perhaps because of their influence, Hovorka is driven by a desire to use music to inspire young people with hope. She lives what she preaches. When she heard the loss of an Ojibway instructor jeopardized the graduation of some students, she gave up some of her tours to fill in as a teacher.
Although she is enjoying the ride, Hovorka said she misses teaching.
“You can’t do them both. For sure I’ll end up back in the classroom.”