Kendra Martinussen
Give a brief bio about yourself/your background/your history.
I was born and raised in Thompson, Manitoba, living there until I graduated high school in 2020 and moved to Brandon to begin my degree in Music. I grew up with a supportive and loving family that always encouraged me to try everything and never give up. I spent all of my childhood outside by camping and fishing all summer and then skiing in the winter. I live to play music and cannot imagine pursuing anything else in my life.
What education have you taken?
I completed my high school diploma at R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson, MB in 2020. I am currently in my third year of the concurrent Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Education (A.D.) program at Brandon University where I am on track to complete in 2025. My applied major is in Jazz saxophone and my second teachable is in mathematics.
How did you become interested in your field/area of study?
Music has always been a big part of my life since I was a young girl. My parents would constantly have music playing and my dad would always be singing or humming a tune. I joined band in grade six when I was twelve and began playing the soprano clarinet and then later switched bass clarinet and then picked up the tenor saxophone. During my time in middle school and high school band, I had the privilege of forming a close connection with my first band teacher who at the time was a newly graduate and an alumni of the Brandon University Music Education program. I also spent time tutoring young students in reading and math skills, as well as volunteering at our local ski hill to provide ski lessons to beginners. My passion for music, teaching and the influence from my teacher led me to BU.
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
I am extremely proud of myself for getting to my third year of university. Ending my high school career and beginning university during the pandemic was a challenge as it was hard to move away from my family, and with everything being remote, it made it hard to find my passion for learning and music. Even with all the challenges I faced in my first two years of university, I have been placed on the Dean’s Honour List every year, and inducted into the President’s Honour Society. I have also been a recipient of various bursaries and scholarships that help me continue pursuing my degree.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be the Corresponding Officer on the Brandon University Student Music Educators Association (BUSMEA) this year. I am proud of the accomplishments the council has made this year which include organizing and hosting various professional development opportunities for the student body and the annual Da Capo Conference. I am also grateful for being selected as a School of Music Ambassador for this school year and using my experiences and knowledge to guide new students and recruit potential students!
Finally, I am most proud of my personal growth I have had as a person as well as a musician. Every day that I get to make music is a gift, and getting to share it with people is even better.
Where do you see yourself in the future? What do you hope to undertake or accomplish once you leave BU?
After I graduate BU I hope to secure a position teaching middle school band in Winnipeg or rural Manitoba. I plan to teach in Manitoba for at least three years and then I would love to give back to the North and teach in Nunavut. After at least five years of teaching, I would like to head back to university to pursue a masters degree, either in music performance or education.
What is your philosophy in life?
Life is not a race, we are all on our own paths at different places. Do not look at where someone else is on their path and compare it to your own, you are exactly where you need to be at this precise moment.
In one sentence, how will you #EmbraceEquity?
I will #EmbraceEquity by remembering to listen to everyone to create a safe and inclusive environments for different perspectives.
First Nominator’s Comments:
Members of the 2022-2023 Brandon University Student Music Educators Association (BUSMEA) council are five intelligent, industrious, and engaged women who are committed to music education and who demonstrate leadership in the field. BUSMEA is a student-run association that organizes, plans, and fundraises for clinics and professional development opportunities, including Da Capo, an annual one-day conference held in the School of Music with professional development opportunities for pre-service and current music educators. Attendees at this year’s highly successful in-person conference came from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and South Dakota.
This exceptional group of women have addressed the unique challenges faced by music educators in a post-pandemic world, all while navigating their own education that was interrupted by the pandemic. It is rare at such an early stage in a young person’s education to see them balance their diverse responsibilities. Yet these women already realize the crucial role their contributions will make in the rebirth of music education, and they recognize the value of working with their peers and future colleagues in their ongoing education to continue adapting to a post-pandemic world. Their commitment to leadership within the School of Music has provided opportunities to share their experiences and educational resources with their peers, fostered avenues of collaboration among their peers and with future colleagues, and created meaningful professional engagement opportunities to prepare students for careers in music education.
Second Nominator’s Comments:
While I realize that it is customary to nominate outstanding women as individuals, I feel that it is necessary to nominate this stellar team as one unit. They work together to advance their pre-professional community while excelling as individual students on campus at Brandon University.
Responsible for organizing professional development opportunities for BUSMEA members, Abby, Faith, Leeanne, Kendra, and Janina serve Brandon University, the School of Music, and the Music Education Community with unique and thoughtful initiatives. Following on the successful programs of past BUSMEA Councils, they are successfully negotiating change following the challenges of the 2020-2022 academic years. They are working to reunite a professional community and reinvigorate a discipline and a community of learners that has experienced unique obstacles because of shutdowns and strict guidelines.
Other significant issues are also at the forefront of Council discussions. They have sought to contribute meaningfully to BUSMEA programming through discussions of accessibility, equity, and social justice in music. Despite these students’ diverse interests, backgrounds, and goals, they collaborate to advance the development and engagement of their colleagues in music and education. The 2022-2023 BUSMEA Council is a model of strength through cooperation.