Ward is no stranger to the stage, having first peered into a spotlight when he was only 9 years old.  Ward has always loved to sing, he even has it on good authority from his mother that he sang before he could talk.  Hey, who argues with mom?

 

So his ever brilliant parents put him into the Prince Albert Boys Choir and there he began to sing in earnest.  Every week learning more about how to use his voice to tell a moving story.  Under the direction of the indelible Margo Fournier (winner of the award of Canada for her musical contributions) he often heard “it’s easier to teach an actor to sing than an singer to act”.  So young Ward worked on getting inside the music and becoming the people in the story.  

 

He was fortunate during this time to work with some amazingly talented people.  Workshops with the late, great Jester Hairston (writer of Mary’s Boy Child, Amen and many others) as well as Sean Diebler (the founding director of the Philadelphia Choral Arts) and Canada’s own operatic contralto Maureen Forrester.  Even once singing with the renowned Vienna Boys Choir.

 

When the time came, he was off to university in Saskatoon to become a “contributing member to society”. The profession chosen was mechanical engineering.  Ward worked diligently in pursuit of his degree (and still is a professional mechanical engineer who wears his engineering ring proudly).  However, during these years his love for music and creativity was not being fulfilled.  

 

He managed to catch the eye of a beautiful, dance teacher and soon found himself taking classes from her and teaching ballroom dancing to unsuspecting victims in the city.  Actually, he had a flair for it and many hundreds of people are now whirling around a dance floor with some semblance of grace thanks to him. 

 

Still Ward’s thirst for music was not quenched and an idea began to rattle around inside his cranium.  He wanted to sing!...and he really wanted to sing with some guys.  So, being the proactive fella he is, he posted signs all over asking for singers to form a group.  Soon after he got a phone call to meet with some other gents who were of the same mindset and the a cappella group Streetnix was born.  The guys toured extensively across Canada and opened for such big name acts as The Band and Great Big Sea.

 

One day Ward was invited to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and he thought “I can do that” so he rolled up his sleeves and became active in acting and musical theatre.  He has enjoyed performing the roles of Tony (West Side Story), Lancelot (Camelot), & Jesus (Godspell), just to name a few.  

 

Ward decided a change was in order and it was time to explore more of this big, enticing world he kept seeing on TV.  He landed a lead singer role in Tokyo Disneyland and moved to Japan to work for a year.  This was a fantastic time, with every day full of new sights, smells, sounds and things to learn.  This electrifying experience abroad only served to whet his appetite for travel and he decided more of it was in order.  Now how to do it?  I know, I can sing on cruise ships and “see the world”, he thought.

 

Ward was fortunate enough to land the featured singer position and has performed for Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Azamara and Princess Cruise Lines.  So many new roles, styles, and genres have taught him to be very versatile both vocally and stylistically.  Going to sleep in one country and waking up to have breakfast in another one really isn’t too bad either. 

 

Ward’s love of singing, dancing and acting is always very active in his life.  Ward has released a number of independent albums which are really not that hard on the ear and still enjoys getting into the recording studio.  However, performing live with great musicians is and always will be his first love.

 

He is presently “blowing them out of their seats” (hey, don’t argue with mom) with his own one-man little big-band show whenever and wherever he possibly can.  With songs from Bublé to Big Band and even swinging versions of pop and rock tunes you never thought could swing!

 

Ward is always up for another adventure and his bags have almost learned to pack themselves....almost.  No matter where you are, you might just run into him on the street.  If you do, be sure to say hi.  He likes that.