Joy Bullen didn’t start out as a music impresario. “My formal working life was with TD Bank,” where, she says, “I had many different and varied roles.”
But what moved her most was art, culture, and music.
“I started looking at the nonprofit world,” recalls Joy.
"I can help"
At the same time, she noticed that there were many young black musicians doing things that were not “typical” of Black musicians and faced challenges.
“The challenge was exposure, the challenge was financial, and I thought, well, I've got the background and the desire, and I can help.”
After leaving the bank, she was approached by her cousin, Eddie Bullen, a successful jazz musician. He had developed a show that with his son Quincy. The show, called Duelling Pianos featured father and son facing off, playing together, and relating the story of Quincy’s musical upbringing, including having to wake up at 5am to practice.
Joy was inspired. “I saw an immigrant, a black man, a family man. And I thought, what I'm looking at is something that refutes a lot of the stereotypical nonsense we hear about Black people out there.”
It was an image, and a story, that she wanted to share.
She called TD, which had programs to support both young musicians and African Heritage Month programming, to see if they were interested in sponsoring the show.
It was a loud yes. Not only were they interested, they asked if Joy could produce the show in four Canadian cities that February.
It was December. The timeline was daunting.
“I said, ‘Of course!’”
Within two months, Duelling Pianos had been performed in Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, and in Halifax at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.
A culturepreneur
Joy has now been working with musicians for over 10 years, focusing on shows that happen during African Heritage Month, in February. She calls herself a culturepreneur. “It’s a made-up word,” she says, “How I've labelled myself is inconsequential compared to what I am doing.”
“The events offer the musicians financial help, exposure and opportunity to keep growing, while they entertain and educate Canadian audiences.”
“I focus on the music that gives me an opportunity to make a statement.”
That statement: That Black people belong. On all stages, in all musical genres, and in all spaces.
She has presented calypso, country, jazz, and classical and opera—music she says “feeds my soul.”
“There is no venue, there's no city, there's no place that we don't belong, because we have achieved so much.”
For one show, she approached four young classical musicians and invited them to bring forward a Black classical composer to introduce to audiences. This included the 18th century composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the son of an enslaved Black woman and her enslaver, a French aristocrat.
Last year, she presented a series of concerts called We are Country.
“I was inspired by Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter which brought renewed attention to Black roots in Country music” says Joy, “I also want to ensure that people know that every genre of music belongs to us.” The Halifax edition of the show featured award-winning singer-songwriter Julian Taylor.
Celebrations and Revelations
On February 6, 2026, Taylor returns to the Museum, sharing the bill with beloved local reggae artist Jah’Mila in a show called Celebrations and Revelations. In Toronto, later in the month, Julian Taylor plays TD Music Hall. “We're totally sold out in Toronto. There was one ticket left yesterday and before I could grab it, somebody else did,“ she says.
Although the message of belonging is important for Black audiences, Joy is clear that these shows are for everybody. “I want a large audience that looks like Canada,” she says. She relies on local co-presenting partners, like the Museum in Halifax, to bring in that audience.
“I value the opportunity to partner with the Museum, TD Bank group and Black musicians,” says Joy, “to show Canadians that Black people have made, and are continuing to make significant contributions to Canada.”
Tickets for the Museum’s February 6 concert can be reserved here.