Hire A Brief Canadian History and Discover Your Canadian Identity

The narrative songs, while dealing sensitively with these subjects, illustrate integral aspects of our past, and demonstrate the need to recognize these issues to shape our future.

This uniquely Indigenous-Canadian performance lends itself fully to the school, festival, cultural centre and Embassy network, providing a forum for thought and classroom discussion in the faculties of Indigenous issues, history, music, art, geography, literature, political science and the promotion of Canadian culture. The performance takes the audience on a geographical and cultural sweep across Canada, touching on events that have boldly or subtly helped to distinguish our nation.

The music is the central theme of this performance and it is highlighted through digital projections, both of these elements are used to engage our audiences in the tradition of storytelling. The songs are narratives designed to relate the stories of people, events and places, then to promote discussions during a question period after the performance. This question period is an opportunity for the students and the public to ask about the project. We have provided some suggested topics for discussion in the various faculties that A Brief Canadian History touches. Please consult our online education feature. Liner notes and the lyrics may be downloaded from our website as a teaching tool to explore the themes further in the class room.

G. Scott MacLeod

Owner and Founder of A Brief Canadian History, Artistic Director, Singer/Songwriter, Musician

G.S. MacLeod's training is in both music, visual arts and film. He has a bachelors of Fine Arts and a Master’s in art education from Concordia University. He has studied the accordion, guitar and Bodrhan, has had over 200 exhibitions and performances to his name and is a well-known Montreal interdisciplinary artist who works as a painter, photographer, filmmaker and musician. His work has addressed social-political issues and historical themes. He has travelled, studied, performed and exhibited across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe and Scandinavia. He has been involved in the Canadian music scene since 1985 as a songwriter and performer in folk, Celtic and rock bands most notably as a member of This New Land, Trinity, Craic and MacLeod 9. G.S. MacLeod has performed A Brief Canadian History show in Berlin, the Side-sounds Music Festival in Oslo and Bergen, The Harbourfront Theatre in Toronto, Concordia and McGill Universities in Montreal for University of the Streets Cafe, The Hudson Village Theatre, Porchfest NDG, Heritage Hall in Vancouver with members of the Squamish Nation, and at many primary and secondary schools in the Montreal area. Also benefits concerts for Amnesty International Art for love and Freedom, the Lubicon Cree Nation in Northern Alberta, the Mohawks of Khanesetake, food banks, AIDS hospices, orphanages, and hospitals.

Christina Sciascia

Musician

Christina Sciascia is a Montréal born and trained musician. She studied classical piano from childhood into her adolescence, but then became more focused on singing and guitar accompaniment as a young adult. She played in the bars and pubs of Montreal for many years, sometimes solo, and often in a duo named the Sha Sha Kats. In 2004 she completed a double major Bachelors degree at Concordia University (a BA in Sociology and a BFA of Music) and a Masters in Music Therapy. Christina has worked extensively in educational settings, creating and giving music classes to preschoolers and elementary school children.

Jonathan Owen Moorman

Musician, Musical Arranger

Jonathan moved to Canada at the age of 11 from Essex, England. After graduating from McGill with a degree in English Literature, Jonathan began performing in Irish pubs across Montreal. Since then he has recorded with artists including John McDermott, ''Beat'', Brendan Nolan, Tuna, Solstice and Scott MacLeod. He has toured extensively with John McDermott, The Mahones and Solstice. He was the musical director of a traditional Quebecois step-dancing troupe, ''Reel et Macadam'', with whom he produced an album and toured Holland, Belgium, Romania and Quebec. Jonathan has also played Folk Festivals throughout Canada and the U.S. including ones in Yellowknife, Drummondville, Victoria, Boston and the Montreal Celtic Festival. His current project is the Jonathan Moorman Band and Mariners Curse, which performs a variety of world and traditional music. Jonathan plays the violin, Irish bouzouki, and whistle.

Mike Burns

Storyteller 

Mike Burns, captivating, humourous, a rare presence in an age of noisy sound bites, short attention spans and mass media. He is a storyteller who learned the rare art of the Seanachie (pronounced sha na ki). Coming from a family of storytellers from Co. Kerry, Ireland he has given the world four decades of stories. Mike has performed his Irish stories for audiences in North America and Europe in festivals, community centres and pubs. Notably The Toronto Story Telling Festival, Festival d’arts créatifs du Labrador and Festival du conte du Québec. Sometimes accompanied with the late Toby Kinsella, musician and founder of the Celtic Group Bard with who he recorded the piece The King of Birds. Mike’s work is in Ghostwise, an anthology of Canadian Storytellers, published by Dan Yashinsky in Toronto in 2002 and most recently he has work in Les jours sont conte Portrait de conteurs published by Planète rebelle/Littorale. His www.thewateroflife.ca series was directed and animated by G. Scott MacLeod into four films in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada. Mike’s story telling is a rare and unique experience, a must see for those who have not experienced this art form.

In Memory of Bevan Skerratt (1945 - 2017)

Musician, Indigenous Cultural Worker

Our dear friend and colaborator Bevan Skerratt passed away peacefully on Sunday October 8, 2017 after a battle with cancer. Bevan was born and raised in Saskatchewan and is of Cree and Celtic ancestry. He came to appreciate the growth-potential that the diversity of human experience offered. With 27 years in holistic personal growth work, Bevan pursued both academic and experiential learning traditions. He had a Bachelors of Arts in Applied Social Sciences from Concordia University and a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology from McGill University. In the course of his career Bevan trained and intervention work in many Aboriginal communities and worked very closely with Native and Inut men in the Canadian Correctional System, also with female victims of violence and sexual abuse. Beavan was asked to participate in A Brief Canadian History as an indigenous cultural worker to promote the education of indigenous culture. We opened our perrformances with the burning of sage and a song to give thanks to the creator and to acknowledge indigenous land, people and their culture. His aim was to bring awareness the indigenous peoples in Canada and beyond.