Anishinaabe flutist prepares for cross-country move to follow his orchestra dreams

Tyler Evans-Knott, 23, a member of Curve Lake First Nation near Peterborough, Ont., has wanted to be a professional orchestral musician for a long time. 

A big step toward that goal was finding the right school to study music at — and getting in. 

Then one day an email came while he was sitting on the couch watching TV. He called his mom over to check it out.

"I knew she was gonna be really surprised and happy," he said. 

That may have been an understatement.

"He just kind of had a little smirk on his face and he showed me the email and I just about flipped my lid," said Janet Evans, his mom. 

That email was an acceptance letter for the music performance program at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in B.C. 

Now the two are preparing to move to the west coast while the rest of his family will stay in Curve Lake First Nation, about 115 kilometres east of Toronto, cheering him on from afar. 

"It's a little nerve-wracking… but I'm pretty excited," he said, adding he can't wait to experience a new music scene in a bigger city.

Practises 2-5 hours a day

Evans-Knott first picked up the flute when he was about nine. 

On a typical day, Evans-Knott said he practises for a minimum of two hours, but some days that number can shoot up to five hours.

He said the chance to work with others, like in an orchestra, makes it feel like a team effort where everyone is working toward a shared goal. 

"I really enjoy the collaborative aspect of playing with an ensemble," he said, adding that it's "less scary" than playing solo. 

His mother said that, following some early struggles in school, it's been exciting to see him use music to find his way.

"People on the [autism] spectrum, once they find their thing that they're totally in love with and they go for it, they succeed in their own ways," she said.

Evans-Knott and his mom spent some time in Vancouver last year while he took part in a performance prep program with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. 

The two fell in love with the beautiful scenery and Evans-Knott found community support, too. His mother said the small school is the "perfect setting" for him.

"They have a lot of First Nation students attending the college and they have a lot of great things for First Nations students as well that are traveling to attend," Evans said.

Evans-Knott received two scholarships from the school to help him pay for his education, but the cost of relocating across the country is still a major obstacle. Evans said they plan to send out a donation package asking for financial support. 

"He has already done amazing things and everybody's really, really proud. This is just the next step," Evans said.