Musician and composer Wylie Ferguson has been accepted into a mentorship program with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra where his work will be played and critiqued. The current VSO mentorship and readings program began on October 15th and runs until May 31st, 2023, culminating in the reading of the scores on May 30th.

Ferguson, 30, studied at the Squamish Academy of Music where he also taught. He also studied composition at Capilano University in North Vancouver, where he says he came into contact with a number of jazz musicians. His compositions are influenced by both contemporary classical music and jazz, with a strong leaning toward dissonant sound.

He cites Frank Zappa as one of his earliest and strongest influences, as well as a number of 20th century classical composers.

Ferguson's mother and stepfather live on Cortes Island, where he brought an ensemble to play at last summer's local LoveFest music festival in August.

Now based in Nanaimo, Ferguson teaches music at the UKmovez Dance Academy and guitar at Riffable.com.

Ferguson speaks about his mentorship with the VSO and his approach to music in the interview with CKTZ News below: