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After five years of booking only internationally, Reading, Massachusetts, boutique agency Music Works International (MWI) has announced its expansion into the US and Canadian booking territories.
Heading up the new domestic division is Gunter Schroder, an 18-year industry veteran who most recently served as vice-president of international at the Kurland Agency.
MWI founder Katherine McVicker comments: “I started this agency five years ago with no idea that we would grow so quickly. Developing the North American market is the natural progression for us.
“Having Gunter join our group of focused and growth-oriented industry professionals makes us a better agency all around.”
“Developing the North American market is the natural progression for us”
“It is an honour to join forces with the MWI team,” adds South African-born Schroder, who has worked with artists including Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman.
“I have admired Katherine’s career for a long time, and share her vision for developing a comprehensive global strategy to further develop the careers of our clients.
“We are poised to move into the new decade stronger and fiercer, and have some exciting plans in the works outside of simply being just a booking agency. More will be revealed soon.”
Music Works International’s jazz-focused North American roster includes House of Waters, Nigel Kennedy, Ambrose Akinmusire, Robin McKelle, Bob Reynolds, Hamilton de Holanda, Peter Cincotti and Sona Jobarteh.
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Jazz-focused US boutique booking agency Music Works International (MWI) has made another round of hires, bring on board two new agents and an assistant to support its growing roster.
Italian agent and promoter Luigi Sidero, a veteran of the European jazz scene, will assume responsibility for MWI’s bookings in eastern Europe, while Katie Hattier, a recent music business management graduate from Berklee College of Music, has been appointed a junior agent, focusing on developing artists and cultivating relationships with international clients, primarily in the UK.
The newest addition to the team, meanwhile, is Madeline Miller, another Berklee graduate, who joins as assistant to the director.
Boston-based MWI has additionally announced the signing of Jonah Nilsson, frontman and keyboardist in Swedish jazz-funk trio Dirty Loops, who recently signed for management duties with Quincy Jones’s Quincy Jones Productions.
“Our dedication to building audiences on a global scale is having an impact”
“Signing a unique talent like Jonah Nilsson is exciting,” comments Katherine McVicker, who founded Music Works International in 2014. “We are intent on curating a roster of world-class talent, expanding into new genres and developing artists. Our dedication to building audiences on a global scale is having an impact.”
She adds: “It is a privilege to work closely with Quincy’s management team.”
MWI last summer made three hires after adding new acts including Bokanté, the new world-music outfit led by Snarky Puppy’s Michael League, and jazz pianists Monty Alexander and Aaron Diehl to its roster.
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Music Works International (MWI), a Massachusetts-based jazz, R&B and world music agency, has made new appointments in its booking, sales and marketing teams.
Anngelle Wood, the organiser and host of Boston’s Rock & Roll Rumble and a DJ at classic rock station 100.7 WZLX, joins MWI’s marketing team, while Amanda Slaybaugh, most recently a junior booking agent with Madison House in Colorado, joins as an agent.
Mitchel Campbell, a recent music business graduate from the University of Hartford, rounds out the trio of hires, becoming an assistant in the agency’s sales team.
“We are excited that MWI’s growth affords us the opportunity to build our staff and bring more industry professionals into the fold,” comments director Katherine McVicker, a veteran IMN agent who founded MWI in 2014. “We are focused on taking the company to the next level.
“We are excited that MWI’s growth affords us the opportunity to build our staff and bring more industry professionals into the fold”
“We look forward to expanding our market reach and creating new networks of promoters in South America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific rim, as well as growing our roster of artists and special projects.”
MWI has over the past year added several new acts to its roster, including jazz pianists Monty Alexander and Aaron Diehl and Bokanté, the new world-music led by Snarky Puppy’s Michael League.
“While Aaron is seen as a jazz artist, he is also an acclaimed classical pianist who recently performed with the New York Philharmonic,” says MWI’s marketing director, David Greenberg. “And in other genres, there’s Bokanté, a band with three members of Snarky Puppy that really grooves deep in the world genre, Monty Alexander’s Harlem Kingston Express, a reggae/ska/jazz double trio, and Richard Bona’s Mandekan Cubano. These acts have opened MWI up to a new level of promoters and range of territories.”
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