Paulina Morgan’s time at the TD Music Artist in Residence at MacEwan University program helped her see just how intertwined her marketer-by-day and singer-songwriter-by-night careers really are.

“I have a really hard time marketing myself as a musician,” she says. “When you’re creating as an artist, you’re so in it that you can’t look at it objectively and see how to promote it.”

While immersed in the program last summer, she met industry experts who helped her to see what was special about her music, and how to best present it. 

Morgan has been releasing music across streaming platforms for a few years, but her full-time job and other commitments kept her from pursuing formal training. When she learned about the TD Music Artist in Residence at MacEwan University program through the Alberta Music newsletter, the length and intensity of the program sounded perfect to her.

“It just seemed like an incredible opportunity to develop as an artist in this incubator environment, where you don't have to do anything except focus on music, learn from mentors and work with like-minded people,” she says.

The two-week program is all-inclusive – artists enjoy a free stay in MacEwan Residence with  catering, and participate in music lessons and one-on-one sessions with expert mentors on everything from performance and instrumental training to exploring the connections between mental health and music. 

“There is so much you could do that it really required prioritization. I had to decide what I wanted to get out of it and go in with that focus,” Morgan says. 

For Morgan, that focus was on collaboration options (with a small detour to try playing the drums for the first time). She built relationships with her fellow musicians and learned ways to make her songwriting process a little less solitary. The participants all receive studio time to record in MacEwan’s world-class facilities, and at the end of the program, they perform in a public showcase concert with a full backing band.

Morgan’s song, "The Night is a Woman," was a concept she had been thinking about for a while but didn’t know how to make a reality, she says. “I had the lyrics and the basic chord progressions, and was able to bring the song to my one-on-ones and ask for arrangement ideas. The residency helped me to bring it to life. Recording with a live band made it a whole other animal.”

Morgan is no stranger to recording studios, but her time at MacEwan was different. She recorded her song with the whole band playing together, and was finished in only a couple of hours.

“There was definitely something magical about that,” says Morgan. “It was such a wonderful, memorable experience.”