COOK MUSIC SCHOOL - Key Persons
Josh Cook is a musician and composer who is proud to call Toronto his home. While educating himself at York University Josh earned his master's degree in music composition and performed in a local band called Cool Man Cool. The band's success earned them an opportunity to share the stage with the legendary Pharrell Williams (as N.E.R.D).
After Josh's experience as a performing musician he began to focus on his true passion of digital composition and studio production. Josh has an extensive library of his own music, ranging from orchestral works, to hip hop and various electronic genres.
Josh's musical findings are not something he keeps to himself. For the past 15 years he has been teaching music and passing on his knowledge and skills to budding musicians throughout Toronto and the GTA.
Job Titles:
- Flirtatious Jazz - Pop" Artist
Justin Maki is a "Flirtatious Jazz-Pop" artist out of London, ON. He is the FCLMA's 2021 "Pop Artist of the Year" and 2022 "Contemporary Singer-Songwriter of the Year". Japan born and Canada bred, Justin's music carefully draws influence from R&B, Soul, Funk, and Jazz and packages it in an accessible Pop format: imagine blending Allen Stone, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, and Robin Thicke. He hopes that his music facilitates a joyful escape for all who choose to listen.
As a touring musician, Justin has played over 1,000 gigs from Halifax to Prince George and has shared the stage with the likes of The Sheepdogs, Measha Brueggergosman, Neon Dreams, and Monster Truck. From bars to concert halls, backyard parties, weddings, and festivals, Justin has been entertaining 100,000s of patrons for the last 17 years. He has had the pleasure of working with such accomplished producers as Matthew Johnston (produced for Shad, Saveria, and Chad Price) and Mark Howard (produced Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, U2, and Neil Young) and he also won Western University's Battle of the Bands in 2015, as well as Western Voice in 2016.
Justin's latest release is his debut album, "New Flame". This is a diverse concept album that traverses the different stages of a romantic relationship from first spark to last billow of smoke. The young artist has 1 more album set to drop in 2022, "Good Vibes", as well as a play called "New Flame: The Musical" coming out in 2023. If this doesn't keep him busy enough, Justin hopes to visit America this year to explore production, performance, and networking opportunities. As always, he will continue to spread joy through music and expand his audience in the process.
Malcolm Hillier is a Canadian producer, musician, songwriter and audio-engineer. His extensive knowledge of music production (predominantly hip-hop and r&b) as well as recording, mixing and mastering all genres of music has kept him in high demand.
A graduate of Metalworks Institute's Professional Sound & Business Advanced Diploma Program, Malcolm is also a master at creating lush soundscapes with ease through the use of advanced mixing techniques over any song. He currently works as a producer / engineer for a number of Toronto artists out of his studio and as mentor for artists and producers looking to further their education in audio engineering.
Stef Haynes is a saxophonist, flautist, and clarinet player from Toronto, Canada. He's a versatile musician specializing in jazz and popular music genres, and his playing has been featured in movies, tv shows, and countless live concerts all over Canada. Stef is also an accomplished music producer and creative music technologist, best known for his creative and virtuosic work with electronic wind instruments, including the Akai EWI, NuRAD, and others.