{"id":121127,"date":"2026-01-22T15:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=121127"},"modified":"2026-01-23T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:00:01","slug":"interview-charlie-wall-andrews-talks-career-new-release-lunar-brass-chorale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/01\/22\/interview-charlie-wall-andrews-talks-career-new-release-lunar-brass-chorale\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Charlie Wall-Andrews Talks About Career, And Her New Release LUNAR: Brass Chorale"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_121129\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-121129\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-121129\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154630.264.jpg\" alt=\"Composer, musician, professor and music industry executive Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154630.264.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154630.264-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154630.264-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154630.264-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-121129\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Composer, musician, professor and music industry executive Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews\u2019 release LUNAR: Brass Chorale was launched on January 16, 2026 at the Girls in Brass Conference in Calgary. The release has already been featured by Amazon Music Canada on their 2026 Artists to Watch list.<\/p>\n<p>The Toronto-based artist, composer, professor and scholar, and music industry executive enjoys a busy career. She\u2019s the Program Director of Professional Music at The Creative School of Toronto Metropolitan University, and an Assistant Professor at that institution.<\/p>\n<p>At the SOCAN Foundation, she is part of directing national programs like the TD Creative Entrepreneur Incubator and Equity X Production Program, and serves on the boards of the Canada Council for the Arts and Music Canada. Charlie is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, and was named Change Maker of the Year by Women in Music Canada.<\/p>\n<p>She is also an Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre.<\/p>\n<p>Wall-Andrews earned a Bachelor\u2019s and Master\u2019s degree from York University, followed by an MBS from the Ivey Business School, and a PhD in Management from the Ted Rogers School of Management.<\/p>\n<p>Her work is dedicated to addressing systemic challenges in the arts and culture sector in order to move towards a more inclusive industry, and empowering the next generation of artists.<\/p>\n<p>LV talked to Dr. Wall-Andrews about her album, and a career that\u2019s taken her from music to business and back again.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nBoHCC1Dx-w?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Charlie Wall-Andrews: The Interview<\/h2>\n<p>Where did such a dynamic career get its start?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started my whole journey as an artist. I went to school for music, this was definitely my calling,\u201d Charlie says.<\/p>\n<p>However, after graduation, she found herself ill equipped for an actual career as a musician. \u201cYou learn how to be creative, but you don\u2019t learn how to sustain a career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She saw so many artists leading precariously professional lives, and rejected the popular stereotype of the starving artist. \u201cI just didn&#8217;t want to play that game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a result, she went back to school to study the business world, and find meaningful work. She eventually found ways of combining both her musical and business background in various ways.<\/p>\n<p>Many music students, on graduating, find the transition to professional so difficult that they give up. \u201cThat was a fear of mine.\u201d She\u2019d spent so much time and passion studying and making music in varying ways, stepping into a completely different realm was jarring. \u201cIt feels overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the end she was able to incorporate both fields in her work. Most of all, she wanted to help other artists develop and sustain their careers via entrepreneurship. \u201cI&#8217;m thankful that I found a role in the music industry.\u201d That\u2019s true even when she was advocating for others, and not her own work. \u201cI genuinely have found joy in helping others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s hoping, in other words, to be able to help other music grads so they don\u2019t have to take such a long career break in order to build a viable career. Her business studies and much of her work looked into the precarity of the music industry as a whole, along with structural inequities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy research dug deeper and deeper into this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With her studies and settling into career mode, even though she was helping other musicians and artiss, she took a break from her own music and composition that lasted about a decade. Now, though, she\u2019s ready to come back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels full circle,\u201d Wall-Andrews says.<\/p>\n<h3>Back to Music: Women in Brass<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMy heart is so full to get back,\u201d she says. \u201cI had so much capacity for getting back into this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She began working on LUNAR about a year ago, and the new album just the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLunar was the first of a bigger project,\u201d she says. \u201cThere&#8217;s other works in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The work is dubbed a brass chorale. \u201cI had anticipated that the world premiere would happen in the UK, where there [is a larger tradition of] brass bands,\u201d she says. It was her agent that found a Canadian organization and suggested it for the premiere.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s only fitting that it should premiere at Girls in Brass, an event which took place earlier in January in Calgary, Alberta. The event is designed to inspire and encourage girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who study and\/or play brass instruments in community or other ensembles, and offers career and musical skill development workshops, talks and much more. Along with professional musicians who offer masterclasses and other educational opportunities, the younger musicians are invited to bring their instruments and join in some of the performances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis worked out so wonderfully,\u201d Wall-Andrews says. Considering the marked lack of representation for women who play brass instruments in most orchestras, it also tied into her other professional concerns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdjusting gender issues in the industry and society at large is very important to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>She looks to create partnerships to promote the interests of women and groups who are marginalized in the music industry, including a program to help women to become music producers who can be in control of their own creative output.<\/p>\n<p>In Calgary, her music was performed by a professional quintet of musicians, and also with a larger ensemble that included high school students alongside the pros.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really filled my heart to be able to have the premiere happen with such a community aspect,\u201d she says. \u201cEspecially being my first premiere in a really long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The experience brought back memories of her own beginnings in music. \u201cI was actually in a military youth program. I played the mellophone.\u201d The mellophone is a brass instrument often used in brass bands to replace the French horn.<\/p>\n<p>Holding the album launch in Canada was the icing on the cake. \u201cWe don&#8217;t really have a large brass band culture here in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_121131\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-121131\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-121131\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154813.181.jpg\" alt=\"A professional ensemble (L) and a combined professional and student ensemble (R) perform Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews\u2019 LUNAR: Brass Chorale at Calgary\u2019s Girls in Brass event, January 2026 (Photo courtesy of Dr. Wall-Andrews)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154813.181.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154813.181-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154813.181-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154813.181-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-121131\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A professional ensemble (L) and a combined professional and student ensemble (R) perform Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews\u2019 LUNAR: Brass Chorale at Calgary\u2019s Girls in Brass event, January 2026 (Photo courtesy of Dr. Wall-Andrews)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Music Then And Now<\/h3>\n<p>After such a long break, has her music changed?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was doing a lot of avant garde before,\u201d she recalls. It\u2019s the kind of esoteric music that, by and large, requires an audience educated in music and music theory to fully understand or appreciate. With so few people educated in the technical and theoretical aspects of contemporary music, particularly nowadays, it makes avant garde music unreachable for the majority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI came back with the intention of writing music that is contributing to the repertoire,\u201d she says. She\u2019s looking to compose music that is both modern and accessible, including to listeners who may not follow contemporary music per se.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I&#8217;m coming back in this way. I feel that this phase, which is a second phase [&#8230;] for me, it&#8217;s about creating that accessibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Making music and presenting performances in Canada, in support of Canadian musical ecosystems, is also an aspect that she feels is becoming increasingly important. There will be more to come.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find LUNAR: Brass Chorale on various services [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/charliewallandrews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews\u2019 release LUNAR: Brass Chorale was launched on January 16, 2026 at the Girls in Brass Conference in Calgary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":121129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,8,18,29,81,51,63],"tags":[40836,42608,42609],"yst_prominent_words":[12205,7138,6616,19287,7081,12857],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-01-22T154630.264.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-vvF","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121127"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121127"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121154,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121127\/revisions\/121154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121127"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=121127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}