
How to Collaborate and Write Great Songs (Workshops)
March 11 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
$20
How to Collaborate and Write Great Songs
Melissa Dutch (she/her) & Sasha Szlafarski (he/him)
Ages 13 – 19
Tuesday, March 11 – 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Join songwriter Melissa Dutch and producer/composer Sasha Szlafarski as they demonstrate tips and tricks to collaborate with others and write a great song. Experience the process and write lyrics and melodies together! Back by popular demand!
Join us for the second annual March Break Tech Week, offering something for youth of all ages! Kids ages 8-12 can create their own movie score and pick up a new instrument every day in our new Monday-Friday morning program. Teens ages 13 – 19 can choose from a variety of 90-minute workshops. Learn the basics of Digital DJing, explore electronic music with Ableton, or get hands on with effects pedals. Co-write with pro songwriters and producers, and get a taste of the Musical Futures Production Program from HMC.
All programs take place at The HMC Centre for Performance and Education at The Gasworks. Register now on our website!
https://hamiltonmusiccollective.ca/programs/march-break/
About Melissa Dutch:
MELISSA DUTCH is an ARTIST/PERFORMER/WRITER, and VOCAL COACH, specializing in contemporary pop, rock, soul, and indie genres, with a technical background in jazz, classical voice, musical theatre, and opera. She offers students a diverse and all-encompassing music education, or a specific focus on almost any genre.
She has been running her registered private studio, MELISSA DUTCH MUSIC STUDIO, from 2016 to today, with a community of dedicated voices. Melissa has an active career as a solo gigging, writing and recording artist in Hamilton and the GTA. Melissa has been recording and releasing original music as a powerful vocalist and an honest poet & lyricist since 2020.
Melissa’s dedication to holistic artistic growth has made her a passionate coach who believes in caring for the whole artist. She approaches instruction with a spirit of healing, acceptance, growth, and inclusivity (particularly for those who are neurodivergent and/or those on a mental/spiritual health journey with their art). The voice is our instrument, an extension of our natural body, the language of our heart, and an expression of our soul.
About Sasha Szlafarski:
Sasha is a multi-disciplinary musician, producer, audio engineer, and composer based in Hamilton, Ontario. His work is marked by a strong emphasis on both sonic and emotional honesty, with a balanced appreciation for both complexity and understatement in music.
Sasha began playing guitar at age 10 and quickly developed an interest in music production, teaching himself recording techniques. By middle school, he was engineering and mixing EPs for his bands. By high school graduation, he had released six EPs and toured internationally as a professional musician. He later pursued Film Scoring studies at the Berklee College of Music.
After completing his studies, Sasha built a career as a composer, engineer, and producer for film, television, and commercial music, working with various filmmakers and studying under Toronto composer Donald Quan. His work expanded into sound recording on film sets and post-production mixing.
In addition to his commercial projects, Sasha quietly produced music on the side for his close friends and colleagues who shared his passion for emotive music, unconventional orchestration, and layered storytelling. At the same time, Sasha advanced his engineering skills by working as a repair technician, specializing in guitars, amplifiers, recording studio equipment, and pedals, while also building his own gear. In 2021, he would eventually open Everything Hz, a professional recording studio, in Hamilton, Ontario.
In 2023, Sasha joined the Hamilton Music Collective, where he designed and outfitted their new recording studio and music tech educational facility, Soundhaus, at the iconic Gasworks building in Hamilton.