Music Student Wins First Prize in Provincial Competition

Louise Cazander heads to National Competition for original composition

Louise Cazander, music student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, was born into a family of creatives. She shared a passion for piano with all of her siblings while growing up, but it wasn’t until later in her life that she began to take playing seriously.

“I’ve been involved with music since I was a child, but just on my own. I played by ear, took a little bit of band in high school, and once I was married I started taking piano lessons,” says Cazander. “I wanted to take lessons from a teacher at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and I ended up actually applying there and enrolling.”

So began her journey towards earning a diploma of music, which she is now two courses away from completing. Taught by instructor Dr. Meijane Quong, Cazander describes her experience at the university as one full of growth and professional training. Such a classic atmosphere sharply contrasts the one she was raised in, which was based solely on the composer’s trademark self-taught, spontaneous songwriting.

“I think Dr. Quong has really pushed me to compose. I had done it on my own, and I would bring her my compositions and play them for her,” Cazander explains. “She really was the one that said, ‘You really need to continue this.’ She’s been very supportive in giving me confidence.”

Although she feels that her skills in music theory and playing in ensembles have improved while attending KPU, Cazander still sticks to her roots of composing at the piano. That is how she wrote “Piano Prelude #2, Mimicking Minions”, the song that won her first place at the B.C. Registered Music Teachers Association’s Music Writing Competition in Division D this year.

“I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll write something that’s kind of fun, that will relate to younger students.’ It just kind of evolved on its own,” she says.

“I think Minions are fun and I think they’re also funny and I could just picture them while I was playing that. I thought that would really be something that Minions would do—follow each other around, mimicking each other. It just popped into my head.”

The success of that playful, melodic tune came as a shock to Cazander, who “didn’t think that [she] would come in first place at all.” It wasn’t the victory that drew her to the contest, but rather the opportunity for a valuable learning experience.

She elaborates, “I just wanted to get [a] critique on it because I’m not being taught composition, so I wanted to send it in and see if I’m on the right track.”

2016 wasn’t the first year that Cazander partook in the BCRMTA competition. In 2014 she received an honourable mention for her composition, which she believes “set the stage for trying again.”

Fortunately for her, that effort has paid off and then some. Cazander is on her way to compete in the Association’s national competition, alongside musicians who she personally considers “more experienced” than herself. That modesty is typical of KPU students, but Cazander deserves more credit for her excellence.

If she were to choose, she would say that her most commendable strength is that she “doesn’t compose in a mould.”

“Sometimes, when you start composing, you follow the guidelines of how to compose. For me, I find that very difficult because I don’t understand that way of composing. I only understand that an idea comes to me—an inspiration.”

“I’m just kind of doing my own thing, and I realize that sometimes that’s hit and miss because I’m probably doing many things wrong, but I’m hoping to learn as I go along because I do love composing.”

Cazander says that she is “really curious” to hear the feedback on her piece at the national competition and hopes to become “more well-rounded” as a musician through the experience.