Our Vision
Our vision is to create something that is educational, entertaining and fun through a multi-disciplinary rollercoaster that will inspire a whole new generation to learn music and be creative.
Thank you for taking the time to review this project that includes over 70 years of combined experience and several thousands of hours of time dedicated to making The Land of Rhythmos© – The Musical a truly unique and memorable learning experience.
Our vision is to create something that is educational, entertaining and fun through a multi-disciplinary rollercoaster that will inspire a whole new generation to learn music and be creative.
When this journey started in 1996, Russell and Tony had recently graduated from York University where they first met. They were eager to make their mark in the world of music as educators, creators and musicians. They both entered the entrepreneurial endeavor of becoming private music educators. For Russell, this was in downtown Toronto while for Tony, it was in his home studio in Oshawa.
Russell and Tony remained close friends and shared their teaching techniques and it didn’t take long for them to realize that there were some common challenges for their students when learning rhythm. It was around that time that Russell went to Tony with an idea to combine their experience and write a story that would teach students of all ages about rhythm in a manner that would be very relatable and easy to understand.
It took about 3 months of weekly meetings lasting anywhere from 8-15 hours along with a few all-nighters for this duo to complete a 14-page story that implemented their teaching methods in a way that made rhythm easy to understand even with no musical background whatsoever. This became known as The Land of Rhythmos©. For most, this accomplishment would be reason enough to celebrate, but that would make this a very short and uneventful summary…
The next evolution in the project was obvious and yet it wasn’t part of the original plan; Of course, the addition of a MUSIC SOUNDTRACK! What better way to teach rhythm than to use music as a guide to help make the learning process even more effective?
Three months was all Tony needed to create an Orchestral Score along with Sound Design to help create a fully integrated and unique audio experience.
Project complete, right? Actually, not yet! With the original soundtrack complete, the next layer included the full use of Tony’s studio by adding 3 voice actors (one of which was Russell voicing 5 different characters!) to bring life to the story characters. This process took about 5 weeks to organize and to rehearse with the soundtrack. Then there was the mixing process that included approximately 50 individual audio tracks. At this point, they had a completed audiobook that could teach rhythm through an entertaining 26-minute story.
All done! Except there were no graphics! Why stop at graphics when they could find an artist to illustrate the whole story? While there were at least two attempts at securing an artist for the project between 1997-1999, despite their best efforts, the project came to a halt when plans to publish the story/audiobook fell short as a result of publishing agents that misrepresented the project as a story about music rather than a story to teach rhythm that included music! 3 years and a few hundred hours later, The Land of Rhythmos© was shelved for 10 years, destined to remain archival irrelevance.
In 2011, fate stepped in by introducing a very creative and dedicated Sound Design Professor named Tony Tosti to a very talented and ambitious mature Animation Student named Alessandro Piedimonte.
“His positive attitude was refreshing; his classical approach to telling a story was far beyond his age and his ability to illustrate and captivate an audience was impressive.” - Tony Tosti
At the end of that semester, Tony introduced Russell to Alessandro and that marked the beginning of a transformation; the script was completely rewritten and included new details that would integrate visual descriptions of characters, lands, and the overall journey all for the purpose of redesigning every artistic layer into one cohesive presentation. The original 14-page story from 1996 that seemed forgotten was about to be re-imagined into a beautifully illustrated, 40-page script that would eventually evolve into what we now refer to as The Land of Rhythmos© – The Musical.
His favorite stories include classics such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’, so it should come as no surprise when that classical style of illustration and storytelling approach of Alessandro found their way into Rhythmos.
This newly established partnership started with several hours of discussion aimed at improving the flow of the story along with a purpose for each character. The outcome of these discussions would eventually manifest themselves through the design process of the characters. Classical archetypes established the motivation for each character through personality traits, fears, insecurities, strengths and weaknesses. In addition, each character was designed to include visual attributes that would provide subtle hints for their respective personalities.
One of the most challenging tasks for any artist involved with a project of this scale would be to create a whole other world where one might find this unique cast of characters. In Rhythmos, this would require no less than NINE original locations that would add yet another beautiful layer of complexity to this ever-evolving process. Given that music is at the core of the entire project, it had to be visually represented in the design concepts for each ‘Land’. This process took approximately 3 months with regular (almost daily) discussions in order to discuss design ideas and to maintain the continuity and integrity of the story. This creative endeavor was filled with twists and turns that could have ended the project once again, but this time perseverance and relentless determination prevented any such outcome.
The original audio version of Rhythmos contained only one song co-written by Tony and Russell called “Count with Me”. Despite the fact that Tony had composed an entire orchestral score for the original project in the late 90’s, only the one song made it to the newly, re-imagined version.
When the decision was made to revisit the project (after 10 years of obscurity), the addition of Alessandro as a new partner seemed like the right time to make some major changes. This was all heading towards a familiar and incredibly daunting endeavor – A NEW SCRIPT. An infusion of creative ideas from Alessandro sent Tony and Russell back to the drawing board to re-write the script. This would eventually require new voice actors, new sound design and of course, an entirely new orchestral score. This was not going to be an easy task. This new script was different in many ways; characters were more defined by having very unique personalities and they lived in different lands made up of elements that emphasized their respective rhythmic values. Then there was the 14-page story that had grown into a 40-page script.
The approach would be much different this time around. Tony had acquired another decade of experience as a composer and songwriter. He started this musical process by adding a section to Count with Me then created multiple variations of the motif which appears in many references throughout the soundtrack. The next step was to compose music that would best represent the note values of each land. Music that would emphasize a Whole Note, another for the Half Note, the Quarter Note and the Eighth Note. This worked well at first, but the script was still a living and breathing entity that was undergoing constant changes in order to improve the story.
This lead to another crucial and intricate layer that was necessary in order to bring life to the evolving visual representations of the lands of Rhythmos… Sound Design. This component ended up becoming an integral part of the overall listening experience. There were no fewer than 8 layers or tracks of individual audio details and which at times peaked at over 25 layers of audio - simply for the purpose of establishing location through sound! This also helps to ignite the imagination of those who will listen to the audio version. Keep in mind that at this point, the project had not yet developed into what is now known as “The Musical”. It was still being created only as an audio project with illustrations.
In October of 2016, Tony stepped back from the project for a week to recharge. This seems to be commonplace with many artists and being away from the studio environment, from the music and sound design proved to be pivotal in the next stage of the projects evolution. Perhaps it was creative withdrawal that set in because it was during that exodus that Tony recalls hearing lyrics in his head as if they were being dictated by the actual voices of each of the characters. Three of the four character songs were written on that one day and that’s when The Land of Rhythmos© suddenly and unexpectedly started to transform into what would soon become “The Musical”.
Back at the studio and re-energized, the music for the songs began to flow and the partners were excited to hear this new material that was being created at a fast and furious pace. This new energy seemed contagious and it manifested itself throughout the entire project. More song lyrics written by Tony and Russell actually accelerated the script-writing process because this new lyrical content filled in areas that otherwise required further explanation. These songs provided each character with its own musical theme and the lyrics explained their personalities, strengths, and their daily motivations. Alessandro was inspired by all these new songs and his character illustrations began to display more personality to coincide with each song’s lyrics and mood. Alessandro’s original concepts for ‘the lands’ of Rhythmos were inspiring the soundtrack and adding more fuel to the story elements in the script. It seemed truly magical!
Once these themes were introduced the respective character, they were integrated into the musical underscore for the remainder of the story.
Now with the songs and orchestral score nearing completion, along with the sound design, and a completed script, it was time to re-record the voices. This process was going to be easier to direct because the rhythm of the soundtrack was specifically written to conform with the delivery and emphasis of the syllables of the script, or at least that’s what they thought!
Despite an exhaustive search, it became difficult to secure voice-over artists given that many were simply unable to commit to the project for a number of reasons. It was time to initiate Plan B.
Russell had voiced several of the characters in the original recording from the late 90’s, so this was nothing new to him. However, Tony had never intended to provide a voice for any character. The end result was that Russell provided the voice for the Narrator, Ace, AND Eighth Note Mandy, while Tony became the voice of Whole Note Harry, Eighth Note Andy and most surprisingly, the Duchess of Darkness! Inclusivity is one of the themes and lessons of the story. Not to be left out, Alessandro was included in this process by providing the voice for two lines of dialogue for the character appropriately named Sandro.
It’s also no coincidence that the two lead voice actors in the recorded studio version of The Land of Rhythmos© are also the leads in The Musical; the voice of Matt by Ryan Sutherland and the voice of Metro Gnome by Lauren Cattell.
When it was all said and done, this epic musical project included well over 180 tracks of audio content (Dialogue/Music/Sound Design), 14 Songs and over 60 minutes of Orchestral Score creating a memorable and feel-good journey through The Land of Rhythmos©– The Musical .
With the audio recorded and the black and white drawings completed, it was time to put Rhythmos to the test. The partners booked a date and rented a theatre venue with plans to host a Focus Group. They enlisted the help a diverse group of professionals to provide objective feedback regarding several key elements of the project including character design, character personalities, character voices, the songs and music soundtrack, artwork, costumes, education content, and the overall story, just to name a few. This group of professionals included education administrators, school principals, elementary teachers, music educators, professional musicians, advertising experts, animation professionals, graphic designers, university theatre students, mental health experts, and business professionals.
It was time to present the future musical as an Animatic- a preliminary version of a movie, produced by shooting successive sections of a storyboard and adding a soundtrack. This process is generally very time consuming and requires a unique set of skills that includes an extensive knowledge of advanced video editing software techniques. The only problem was that none of the partners had this specialized skill. So the solution was simple; dive in and learn, QUICKLY! Given that this required video and audio integration, Tony and Alessandro took on the challenge and started editing. This created another problem given that they lived about an hour away from each other and would have to work evenings after having worked all day! The solution for this dilemma was to use Skype as the medium in which they could remotely share their respective screens. So with the video software open in Tony’s Studio in Whitby, Ontario and Alessandro selecting which drawings he created for the audio from his home in Etobicoke, Ontario. Everything was confirmed with the Focus Group and the Attendees. They had 14 days to complete what might normally seem like an impossible task for two people – A 90 Minute Animatic!
The feedback from of the Focus Group was thoroughly reviewed. Although there were suggestions made that would require some major changes to some character voices, and some minor additions to the storyline, the general consensus was overwhelmingly positive.
It would require an additional three months of work to make the suggested changes, but more importantly these changes would help to elevate Rhythmos to an even higher level. The Focus Group provided us with feedback that was objective, without bias or prejudice and initiated improvements that would have otherwise been impossible.
Rhythmos was originally created by music educators to teach rhythm to students of all ages. It soon became evident that this teaching content was easily relatable to other areas in curriculum so Tony and Russell made a conscious decision to expand the education content beyond the concepts of rhythm into other areas that were already inherent in this most recent reincarnation of the story.
Having well over 60 years of combined experience in the area of music education definitely helped to refine the necessary content required to most effectively and efficiently teach rhythm. Tony and Russell have taught thousands of students in many areas of music including piano, guitar, voice, drums, percussion, music theory, songwriting and music software in both private and classroom settings. Although the range of students spanned from absolute beginners as young as 4 years of age to some very determined ‘bucket list’ students that started music at the ripe and experienced age of 80, the one constant and dependable aspect was the teaching process.
The process of teaching rhythm can be very simple when someone ‘has’ rhythm. They ‘get it’, they ‘see what you’re saying’ or they ‘hear you’. Although the end result may lead to the same outcome, the process that’s required to get there is completely different. The learning process is far more effective if one uses a combination of auditory, visual or kinesthetic methods. Tony and Russell have been implementing all three processes in every aspect of their teaching for decades. This ensures that all students will learn the educational content regardless of their primary learning process.
It was this same approach that was built into the teaching process in Rhythmos. In the Live, Theatrical Production, characters represent a particular note value. They teach these notes to our lead character first by explanation, then by means of an actual performance all the while, a visual representation is being projected for the audience to follow along thereby encouraging children to participate, explore and express themselves in ways not possible through more traditional learning methods. Experiencing the Live Theatrical Performance of The Land of Rhythmos© provides individuals with the capacity to build confidence through intellectual and emotional development. This Experiential Learning Process allows students to retain and internalize rhythm and to better understand how it relates outside of music.
Content was being developed and added on a weekly basis, with dozens of exercises, worksheets, projects, and educational content. Elements from the beautifully illustrated artwork were integrated into these supplemental materials.
In addition, Rhythmos includes the animatic video with a full orchestral score and supplemental learning materials for use in classroom settings. Lessons learned in the live theatre production can be integrated into the Grade 1 to 4 curriculum. Through music and visuals, children ages 6 to 9 learn math, language, spelling, reading comprehension, mental health and critical thinking. The video and learning materials enhance the live musical experience or can be used as standalone curriculum when children are unable to attend the show. This educational material conforms to Ontario’s curriculum-based guidelines for featured subject areas.
Producing a musical is no easy task. Finding a venue, securing the performance dates, set design/props, posting casting calls to audition actors, weeks of rehearsals, costumes design and fittings, determining the technical requirements like sound and lighting, hiring the right production team, creating a targeted marketing plan and the appropriate promotional materials required for advertising, and most importantly… A VISION! Each heading on this shortlist of tasks contains dozens of subheadings and extensive timelines that must all culminate into one unified objective – A successful production!
It took about a week to determine the most appropriate venue and dates for the show. So it was time to find experts to begin discussing the set design, the stage configuration and the props. Budget was always a major consideration. Up to this point, the entire project from writing the script, writing and recording the songs and orchestral score, recording all the voices for the audio version, the 1000’s of hours of studio time, along with all 500+ drawings…. had been funded and/or created entirely by Tony, Russell and Alessandro! The next few steps would literally make or break The Land of Rhythmos© . How things came together is a true testament of what people are capable of when faced with adversity and the distinct possibility of failure.
Their plan was to engage the help of a very well-known educational institution with which all three of the creators were somehow directly associated. The school would assist with the production of the set design, props and costumes. In return, they would partner with this school to produce and stage the debut performance of The Musical while showcasing the talents contributed by the various creative departments. It was a great idea and it was the ONLY idea and it was necessary in order to get to the next level. Despite several very encouraging emails and a great personal meeting, this school’s high ranking representative didn’t share the VISION. They felt it was a very ambitious and intricate production and if the school were to partner with this project, it would require the help of a team of professionals from the school to help facilitate and execute this project and that was something they were unable to commit to at that time. Now with little to no budget set aside for this major undertaking, even the most dedicated people would have to re-evaluate the project and possibly consider postponing it …indefinitely.
The three partners came together for a meeting and Tony suggested that they would have to take on the task of creating Set Design and Props! THEY would have to build everything themselves! Of course, the most obvious problem with this strategy was that none of them had any experience in designing sets or building props. Then again, not knowing how to do something had never stopped them from completing all of the other things they had already done to get this far in the project and this was no different!
It a little over 12 weeks to determine the layout and configuration of the stage and to physically recreate a long list of intricate and unique props including a very specifically designed 12-foot-tall cactus tree, a land that filled the stage with junk and debris, a night club with neon palm trees, and a flying boat that occupies the space of two full sized cars. These items are only a tiny collection of the set design that were created by individuals with no experience whatsoever in this highly specialized field! Casting was a relatively smooth process and surprised just about everyone involved. In fact, it was during this very process that the 3 creators became aware of a very important and distinguishing advantage; they were CREATORS producing a project versus Producers producing a project! That seemingly simple fact was having a positive impact on pretty much everyone that had the opportunity to meet this inspirational trio. Several actors that auditioned for roles in The Land of Rhythmos© actually made it a point to thank Tony, Russell and Alessandro for somehow turning the highly stressful and emotionally draining process of auditioning into a much more relaxed, fun and comfortable environment.
As creators, they treated these actors with dignity and respect regardless of their performances. Perhaps it was because they too had been in positions throughout their respective careers where strangers were given the incredible power to determine another person’s future. They do this with little or no consideration for the amount of anxiety and fear this situation creates, even for the most seasoned professionals. Consider a university audition, a job interview, or the first time lecturing to an auditorium filled with strangers evaluating your every word. Each of these situations is very different and yet they all have one thing in common; they all require an incredible amount of courage. So when Tony, Russell and Alessandro were on the other side of the table evaluating performances, they each felt very humbled that so many actors set time aside to audition for a role in their production.
With set design under control, character roles determined and with rehearsals well underway, there was still the matter of costumes. In keeping with the traditions they had established for the past 5 years and perhaps inspired with the outcome of their set design and props, Alessandro assumed the role of Costume Design along with his wife Angela Bellon. The reasoning was that they had enjoyed making Halloween costumes in the past and would be willing to give this a try! Once again, the task of bringing the illustrated characters to life wasn’t easy. Researching and sourcing various materials, fabric and accessories was going to be a very time consuming process. After weeks of collecting unique and innovative items and making many of the details by hand, they started bringing the drawings to life with the help of some creative ingenuity and an incredible amount of talent. The first time the actors tried on the costumes, the illustrated character was suddenly transformed into a living and breathing physical manifestation.
With the debut performances less than 10 weeks away, Tony, Russell and Alessandro had managed to stay focused and inspired for 5 long years, inching their way towards a finish line that at times seemed to be moving further and further away. Yet through persistence and relentless determination, along with a sincere sense of appreciation, they were somehow able to bring together a wildly talented and enthusiastic cast of actors along with an incredibly skilled and dedicated technical staff to support the efforts of everyone involved.
While the future of Rhythmos is directly related to the success of the Live – Theatrical Production, there are definitely plans being discussed and the possibilities are endless;
♦ A Behind the Scenes Documentary on the Making of…? ♦ A live Orchestral Performance of the Soundtrack? ♦ A Fully Illustrated Audio Book? ♦ A 6-Part Animated Web Series? ♦ A 12-Part Animated TV Series? ♦ An Animated Feature Film?
Well whatever it is, one thing is for sure... only TIME will tell!
