As part of the Harris Digital Residency, we’re profiling alumni and faculty of Harris Institute. Read about highlights and memories of Harris throughout the years and help celebrate 30 years of excellence.
Who are you?
Elyse Alavie, artist management coordinator at Arts & Crafts Productions.
When did you graduate from Harris Institute? What are you doing now?
I graduated from the Artist Management Program in 2017. I have been working at Arts & Crafts Productions since October 2017 as an artist management coordinator. I work with artist manager Jason Burns, assisting in the management of Choir! Choir! Choir!, Rich Aucoin and Tim Baker.
Looking back, what faculty member or course was the most influential to you and why?
There were two faculty members at Harris that were the most influential to me: Anne-Marie Smith and Bob Roper.
Bob Roper was an overarching guide throughout my year at Harris. He has held many interesting titles throughout his career, and uses his experiences to curate thought-provoking and insightful lectures. With his charm and edgy wit, he provided me with all the tools I needed to succeed, and never sugar-coated the realities of his ever-changing industry. Bob always keeps his door open, and I feel confident knowing I can still come to him with questions and ideas.
Anne-Marie Smith is one badass lady who taught me the importance of self-differentiation, awakened my natural strengths as a leader, and showed me how to stand out from the rest. Her stories of self-made success were proof that you can achieve any goal you set so long as you apply yourself. We share a common bond as female professionals in the industry, and I use the skills she taught me every day in my job.
What is one of your proudest professional accomplishments?
About four weeks into my job, I went “on the road” for the first time. I accompanied Choir! Choir! Choir! to Calgary and Vancouver, as they were doing tree lighting ceremonies at various Cadillac Fairview malls across Canada. We then went to Ottawa for two shows, bringing a 50-person performance choir from Toronto. The first show was at the National Arts Centre, and the second show was performing the national anthem at the Grey Cup.
Even though it was very early in my job, I was given a lot of responsibility getting the whole week organized. Coordinating travel is always a bit of a challenge, but doing it for 50 strangers was especially so! The nature of these shows were also vastly different, so there was a lot of production to coordinate. It was a whirlwind week across the country, but such a meaningful week. It taught me how to balance work travel while continuing my regular day-to-day tasks. It allowed me to really get to know Daveed & Nobu (co-founders and leaders of C!C!C!), and have an in-depth look into Choir! Choir! Choir! It was a successful week, and I love being able to look back at those events and say, “I helped make that happen!”
Any additional comments?
Congratulations, Harris Institute, for 30 successful years… Here’s to another 30!
Visit the NOW Digital Residency: Harris 30th
