A short backgrounder – Since her 2006 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Lorraine Baron’s life trajectory has been eventful! After working full-time with high-school students, her career was moved steadily towards teaching teachers how to teach mathematics. She obtained her Doctorate’s Degree in Education from the University of Calgary in 2010, and taught at the University of British Columbia, and, later, in the Teacher Education Program at the University of Hawaii.
Interviewer:
Thank you, Lorraine, for taking some time with us today – and congratulations on your latest prize. Can you tell us a little bit
more about your education background?
Lorraine:
I really loved teaching youth and young adults – it always brought
me joy! And when I learned I had won the top prize for teaching in Canada, it was quite incredible – like icing on the cake! I also truly enjoyed the
post-secondary world, where I was able to have more influence
on how mathematics might be taught so that it would be more
inclusive and accessible. All students can learn mathematics, and they deserve to be taught and assessed in a fair, meaningful, and safe environment. I’ve always viewed teaching as a Social Justice cause, which is why, when I began to dabble in music-making, my lyrics
also reflected my strongly held world view.
Interviewer:
So, from a top prize as an educator to a musician? How did that happen?
Lorraine:
That is such a tricky question. If you had asked me, even on the last few days of my university work, what I might like to tackle in my early retirement, I would definitely not have known. I hadn’t really thought about it much. I just knew I wanted to try new things – all those “things” that professionals put aside for their careers. I knew I wouldn’t be bored – that’s for sure. My hubby and I moved to a beautiful oceanside community on Vancouver Island, and we took up hiking and enrolled in an oil painting course. Once I actually sat down and took the time to listen to music on a regular basis, I realized how much music was a part of me – it
felt like there was a real physical part of me that was music – that I had
suppressed for far too long. I still had my guitar from way back in high school, and I had purchased a real Koʻa wood Ukulele when I was in Hawaii… and those were the only two real clues of what was to come. Then I got an iMac, and that came with Garageband – I suppose that’s when my musical fate was sealed.
Interviewer:
So, Lorraine, tell us how you began to work with Gunnar Nanuk in Germany?
Lorraine:
Technology has been the answer: because of technology, I was able to learn to build songs by ear, and similarly, it is because of internet access and social media that I was able to connect with other musicians. Gunnar Nanuk and I connected online – we heard each other’s music, and we realized we had quite a bit in common. We had both recently left our traditional work environments, and we both dove wholeheartedly into making music – it’s an absolute joy for both of us.
Neither of us is into it for fame or for profit – it is only about the music, and, in particular, about the message. We are both highly motivated by social justice issues and the environment. We are both so ecstatic to be able to make music for the pure joy of it. Technology allowed us to work together, though we have never met, and are 5000 miles (8000 Km) away from each other.
We call each other: “the best musical friends who have never met!”
German Pop Foundation presents:
German Rock & Pop Musicians Association (Registered Association) Federal Association of Musicians, Music Authors and Musician Initiatives in the Field of Popular Music, Rock & Pop, Hard Rock, Funk & Soul, Country & Blues, Hip Hop & Rap, EDM and Dance, Jazz & Folk etc. 2020 Awards Certificates: Best Studio Recording AND Best Song of the Year: in the English Language Gunnar Nanuk and Lorraine Baron “Get Out”
We congratulate you on your outstanding performance!
GEMA is the German version of #ASCAP #BMI or #SOCAN
The song: “Get Out” was written to encourage victims of domestic abuse to leave their toxic environment. Please listen on any platform, including, Soundcloud, Spotify, iTunes, AmazonMusic… Video available at: https://youtu.be/O9RX-nYZInI
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