Five years after graduating from Laurier, Keenan Reimer-Watts (BMus ’14) has a growing career in collaborative performance, composition and the environmental movement.

“I am doing what I love,” he says, “and I keep following that to see where it will take me.”

Keenan graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Composition and will be returning to Laurier to complete his Master of Arts in Community Music this Fall. He composes for and performs on a range of instruments as a soloist, as an accompanist and in collectives. He is also a passionate environmentalist who has created a platform for performers to use their performing art to help the planet. His organization, Busking for Change, connects performers around the world with the technology to transfer money they raise, through text-to-donate software, to environmental organizations that Busking for Change members have collectively voted to support.

After graduating from Laurier, Keenan lived in Ottawa for two years working as a freelance accompanist. It was during this time that he realized how much more breadth he wanted in his musical career. Returning to Kitchener-Waterloo, Keenan opened up to more opportunities, taking on a variety of work in composition, accompaniment and performance, both solo and collective. From performances at the Stratford Festival, KW Chamber Music Society, Elora Festival and more, to self-producing albums of children’s music based on classical composers and contemporary elements, to composing his innovative Preludes for People series, Keenan is building a prolific body of work – and always seeking to expand. Keenan is learning other instruments – fiddle, banjo, jaw harp, guitar and mandolin – after noticing that piano was limiting his ability to play with others, as it isn't portable. As a result, he has joined local folk groups Onion Honey and Northland Rail Service. As he develops these skills, he is eager to play in other musical communities.

The folk music community is particularly meaningful to Keenan as it overlaps with his other passion, environmentalism. Inspired by an environmental studies course that he took during his time at Laurier, Keenan began to think seriously about environmental issues. It was this passion that led him to creating Busking for Change.

“The state of the world is very dire,” says Keenan, “and we are experiencing signs of global ecological instability. It can be difficult to keep that big picture in mind when we are managing our individual problems...but there is an urgency to confront these issues.” It is this urgency, and his love for music, that keeps Keenan motivated.

His goal is for Busking for Change to become “an international community of performing artists collectively raising awareness and funds for environmental organizations.” Through this program, buskers set out a sign while they perform with a number on it that audience members can text to send funds to the busker’s chosen environmental charity. Busking for Change currently has members around the world, supporting environmental organizations within their own countries. Keenan looks forward to a day when cell phone providers are able to offer the technology that would allow a user to send charity donation texts internationally, so that a person watching a busker in China, for example, could send money to an organization Busking for Change supports in Ecuador. Currently this technology is feasible, but only within national borders. (For Laurier entrepreneurs reading this: if you have ideas for taking this tech to international scale, he’d love to collaborate with you!)

Bringing together a love of music and the environment has connected Keenan with a wide range of people, initiatives and musical styles. This fits well with his vision for his career and his creative style. He’s inspired by composers and artists across a variety of genres, including the professors and teachers he worked with at Laurier. “I’m inspired by hard-working people in general,” he says. “One thing that really keeps me going is seeing how hard people work in the environmental organizations that I am connected with … a lot of my drive comes from that.”

Keenan invites performing artists of all ages and abilities to learn more about Busking for Change. Find out how you too can use your talents to help the environment by going to https://www.buskingforchange.net!

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