A campaign has been launched to raise money for an award created in honour of a talented music producer and audio engineer in Vancouver who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 25 on July 1.
Olivia Quan trained at Monarch Studios in Vancouver and quickly became one of the city's "most in-demand engineers" right out of school, explains a GoFundMe.
"Due to her incredible work ethic and dedication to her craft, Olivia was light years ahead of where she should have been at her age. She attended the 2022 Juno Awards with three projects she worked on nominated, and can only be described as a rising star of Vancouver’s recording scene."
In addition to her impressive technical abilities, Olivia connected with people and helped them deliver amazing performances.
"Olivia went way out of her way volunteering her time to teach training engineers and was a mentor and shining example of what is possible when you dedicate yourself to your craft," writes the campaign organizers.
To honour Olivia, a fund has been created in her name to encourage young people to pursue a career in audio and to be inspired by her achievements and dedication to her craft.
The fundraising goal is $25,000 minimum for a five-year program, with the extraordinary goal of $75,000, which if invested would allow the award to continue for roughly 20 years.
The campaign states that a successful candidate would embody the characteristics that made Olivia so exceptional.
It would be open to young people age 25 or under from British Columbia who:
- Have demonstrated hard work and dedication to the mastery of audio
- Have a clear idea of their goals and how they want to achieve them
- May have obstacles in their way that this award could help reduce
- Extra consideration is given to women and other under-represented groups in the industry but does not exclude any worthy recipients.
Examples of uses of funding could be:
- Scholarship towards audio education and mentorship
- Cost of living expenses while pursuing an audio internship or apprenticeship
- Specific purchases of equipment that would allow one to advance their career
- Travel expenses to attend audio training or events
The top 10 candidates in any year and a small group that can
include family and people that knew Olivia will choose the final recipient. These people
could rotate over time to give others an opportunity to be involved.
Music BC has stepped up to handle the administration of the applications.
The award will be announced in fall 2022, with the award given in April 2023, so a candidate can use the funds for Sept 2023.
As of this writing, the campaign has raised $20,975 of its initial $25,000 goal.
