Centre for Sound Communities
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Post written by Michelle MacQueen
To start off the series of events for the Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter Colloquium, we had a concert at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church in Whitney Pier. The concert featured on one of the world’s premier players of the bandura (Ukrainian lute-harp), Julian Kytasty. A singer, multi-instrumentalist and third-generation bandurist, he has performed and taught instrumental and choral music throughout the Americas and Europe. Born in Detroit, he has a BFA in Theory and Composition from Concordia University in Montreal. Mr. Kytasty is especially recognized for his expertise in epic songs and early bandura repertoire. As a performer, recording artist, composer, and band leader, he has redefined the possibilities of the bandura.
The concert was titled Immigrants, Exiles, and Cultural Missionaries: Bandura Music Outside Ukraine.
The bandura has been considered a national instrument in Ukraine. During the 20th century, the instrument was carried around the world by bandurists caught up in multiple waves of emigration. Some left to find a new home and a better future; others fled Ukraine as political exiles and wartime refugees. For each of these immigrant groups the bandura was a marker of identity and a way of expressing their deepest feelings about the place they left behind, the circumstances under which they left it, and the place they came to. In between songs, Julian taught us about these different moments of people leaving Ukraine and creating new homes elsewhere, and about the songs and stories they created.
Photo credit: Rachael Murphy
(Featuring Sound Communities documentarian Kirk Kitzul behind the camera)
Julian started the concert by playing us some of traditional folk songs that would have been sung by blind singers in Ukraine, Kobzars. He told us about the history of these epic singers who sang stories of the people.
Photo credit: Rachael Murphy
The concert programme focused primarily on the 20th century bandura players who left Ukraine and continued their work elsewhere. Julian taught us about the war in Ukraine after the Russian Revolution and how this caused many prominent bandurists to leave Ukraine. The next large wave of Ukrainian emigrants was after the Second World War. Julian told us about the particular difficulties Ukraine faced during this war, struggling against both Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union. We also learned about initiatives by 1960s Soviet Ukraine to get major cultural figures to return to Ukraine.
Photo credit: Michelle MacQueen
Throughout the concert, Julian performed songs by these emigré bandurists and described how they felt a deep sense of cultural mission: to preserve cultural content repressed in Soviet Ukraine, to continue developing the instrument in their new homelands, and to chronicle their own experience and that of their generation.
Julian ended the concert with bandura music that was very personal to him. As a third-generation bandurist, Julian Kytasty has been part of this process of bringing the bandura from Ukraine to North America. He played some of the music that he inherited from his father, grandfather, and other members of his family. He also played some of his own creations, including a completely improvised piece dedicated to this day of our concert.
Photo credit: Michelle MacQueen
The Ukrainian songs and the sounds of the bandura reverberated beautifully throughout the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church. It was a pleasure to learn about the songs and stories of Julian’s family and other immigrant bandurists, the instrumental music they brought with them, and the new music they made for their instrument outside of Ukraine.
Photo credit: Michelle MacQueen
2019 Songs and Stories: ICTM Colloquium
2019 ICTM Colloquium on Songs & Stories of Migration & Encounter
A colloquium for the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) hosted by The Centre for Sound Communities, Cape Breton University, October 6-12, 2019.
Following the theme ‘Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter,’ 18 international scholars share their research on this theme and create dialogue among specialists from all over the world. This colloquium brings together artists, scholars, and community leaders from throughout Canada and the United States as well as the United Kingdom, Japan, Armenia, Austria, and Slovenia.
Scholars meet at the Centre for Sound Communities at Cape Breton University, Membertou First Nation at the Heritage Park, McConnell Public Library in Sydney’s Waterfront District, Menelik Hall in Whitney Pier, the Gaelic College in St. Anne’s, and in various community centres in Chéticamp.
The following events are open to the general public:
- Sunday October 6, 7:00pm – Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church
Concert (freewill donation accepted): Julian Kytasty – Immigrants, Exiles, and Cultural Missionaries: Bandura Music Outside Ukraine
- Monday October 7, 4:00pm – Centre for Sound Communities (Cape Breton University)
Public Lecture: Kaley Mason – Food, Music and Environmental Justice in South India
- Tuesday October 8, 2:00pm, Centre for Sound Communities (Cape Breton University)
Film Screening: Julia Byl – Poets in the Living Room
- Tuesday October 8, 4:00pm, McConnell Public Library
Film Screening: Terada Yoshitaka – Crossing over the Arirang Pass: Zainichi Korean Music
- Tuesday October 8, 7:00pm, McConnell Public Library
Film Screening: Terada Yoshitaka – Drumming out a Message: Eisa and the Okinawan Diaspora in Japan
- Wednesday October 9, 4:00pm, Membertou Heritage Park
Workshop/Lecture: Alex Chávez – Sonic Bridges: Home, Intimacy, and the Borderlands
- Wednesday October 9, 7:30pm, Menelik Hall
Public Lecture: Afua Cooper – Fugitive Verses/Sonic Stories: Slavery, the Middle Passage, and the Soundscapes of Black People’s Freedom Quest
- Thursday October 10, 11:45am, Centre for Sound Communities (Cape Breton University)
Dance Workshop: Ameera Nimjee – Kathak Dance in Hindustani Music Culture
- Thursday October 10, 7:00pm, McConnell Public Library
Public Lecture: Gage Averill – Echoes of “Haïti Cherie” in the “Koloni”
- Friday October 11, 7:30pm, Église Saint Pierre, Chéticamp
Concert (freewill donations accepted): Songs and Stories of Cape Breton, with various performers including Colin Grant, Chester Delaney, Robert Deveaux, Julian Kytasty, Marcia Ostashewski, and Le Choeur du Havre
Quick Facts:
- 18 scholars from 6 countries are meeting in Cape Breton to share research about music and migration in communities around the world including virtual spaces
- As part of the Colloquium, several community events will take place across the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, including concerts, workshops, film screenings and public talks
- The International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) is a scholarly, non-governmental organization in formal consultative relations with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. ICTM aims to further the study, practice, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional music and dance of all countries
- Scholars, artists and community leaders are coming from: Cape Breton University, University of British Colombia, Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of Alberta, Membertou First Nation, Nova Scotia Rug Hookers (Cheticamp), University of Notre Dame (USA), Indiana University (USA), St. Olaf College (USA), Lewis and Clark College (USA), University of Puget Sound (USA), Royal Holloway University of London (UK), National Museum of Ethnology: Centre for Cultural Resource Studies (Japan), American University of Armenia (Armenia), University for Music and the Performing Arts Vienna (Austria), and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Additional Resources:
International Council for Traditional Music: https://www.ictmusic.org/26th-ictm-colloquium-2019-cape-breton
Cape Breton University: https://www.cbu.ca
Songs and Stories: ICTM Colloquium
Songs and Stories: ICTM Colloquium
A colloquium for the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) will be hosted by Centre for Sound Communities, Cape Breton University, October 6-12, 2019.
This colloquium follows the theme “Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter.” 18 international scholars are invited to share their research on this theme and to create dialogue among specialists from all over the world. This colloquium will bring together artists, scholars, and community leaders from throughout Canada and the United States as well as the United Kingdom, Japan, Armenia, Austria, and Slovenia.
Scholars will meet at the Centre for Sound Communities at Cape Breton University, Membertou First Nation at the Heritage Park, McConnell Public Library in Sydney’s Waterfront District, Menelik Hall in Whitney Pier, the Gaelic College in St. Anne’s, and in various community centres in Chéticamp.
Quick Facts:
- 18 scholars from 6 countries are meeting in Cape Breton to share research about music and migration in communities around the world including virtual spaces
- As part of the Colloquium, several community events will take place across the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, including concerts, workshops, film screenings and public talks
- The International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) is a scholarly, non-governmental organization in formal consultative relations with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. ICTM aims to further the study, practice, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional music and dance of all countries
- Scholars, artists and community leaders are coming from: Cape Breton University, University of British Colombia, Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of Alberta, Membertou First Nation, Nova Scotia Rug Hookers (Cheticamp), University of Notre Dame (USA), Indiana University (USA), St. Olaf College (USA), Lewis and Clark College (USA), University of Puget Sound (USA), Royal Holloway University of London (UK), National Museum of Ethnology: Centre for Cultural Resource Studies (Japan), American University of Armenia (Armenia), University for Music and the Performing Arts Vienna (Austria), and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Additional Resources:
International Council for Traditional Music: https://www.ictmusic.org/26th-ictm-colloquium-2019-cape-breton
Cape Breton University: https://www.cbu.ca
The Kun’tewiktuk Project
In the 2019 Indigenous theatre research-creation project, Kun’tewiktuk, facilitated in partnership with The Centre for Sound Communities, Membertou First Nation collaborative researchers investigated personal experiences, histories and legacies of migration and encounter in Cape Breton through a theatrical production and film presentation. Subsequent publications in 2020 further explored the significance of the 1916 forced relocation of the Mi’kmaq and its historic and personal consequences on the Membertou First Nation community.
“[What Kun’tewiktuk] meant to the community is that … we were able to open a door into history and to show the people … how it was back in the early 1900s … It was a very significant and traumatic time,” — Graham Marshall, Councillor, Membertou First Nation, Traditional Knowledge-holder, Kun’tewiktuk Project
“We’re carrying this pride in ourselves that we learned this together, and that we worked on this project together and that we successfully brought it to fruition. [We] had a very emotional and a very powerful story to tell, and when that story was told, the elders embraced the youth and they said, ‘That was incredible; that was very good and that was very strong.’ That’s the spirit of our people, that’s the spirit of Membertou, that’s the spirit of Kun’tewiktuk.” — Clifford Paul, Traditional Knowledge-holder, Membertou First Nation Researcher & Consultant, Kun’tewiktuk Project
In this film, Membertou First Nation collaborative researchers speak about their participation in the Kun’tewiktuk Project:
REFER TO:
Ostashewski, Marcia, and Shaylene Johnson. 2020. “Relocation, Research and Reconciliation in Unama’ki.” In My Body Was Left on the Street: Music Education and Displacement, edited by Kính T. Vu and André de Quadros, 267–280. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Ostashewski, Marcia, and Clifford Paul, Graham Marshall, Shaylene Johnson. 2020. “Fostering Reconciliation Collaborative Research in Unama’ki: Engaging Communities through Indigenous Methodologies and Research-Creation”. Yearbook for Traditional Music 52: 23-40.
Digital Humanities Workshop
Digital Humanities Workshop
May 1 -2
Experts from ACENET and the CBU Library are leading this free, two day event. Nutrition breaks and lunches are provided. The following topics will be offered:
Is Advanced Computing for Me?
Research Data Management
and Cloud Powering Digital Humanities Research
Please email sound_communities@cbu.ca for more information.
To register, see information below and click on the poster to activate pdf with hyperlinks:
Digital Humanities Workshop
Digital Humanities Workshop
May 1 -2
Experts from ACENET and the CBU Library are leading this free, two day event. Nutrition breaks and lunches are provided. The following topics will be offered:
Is Advanced Computing for Me?
Research Data Management
Cloud Powering Digital Humanities Research
Please email sound_communities@cbu.ca for more information.
To register, see information below and click on the poster to activate pdf with hyperlinks:
Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter: Session 3
Session 3:
Duration: 6 weeks on Mondays
Time: 6:30 – 8:30PM
Start Date: January 29, 2018
End Date: March 5, 2018
Price: FREE
Facilitators: Facilitated by Dr. Marcia Ostashewski and Shaylene Paul.
Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter: Session 3
Session 3:
Duration: 6 weeks on Mondays
Time: 6:30 – 8:30PM
Start Date: January 29, 2018
End Date: March 5, 2018
Price: FREE
Facilitators: Facilitated by Dr. Marcia Ostashewski and Shaylene Paul.
All My Relations – Community Arts Research Showcase
Sunday, October, 22, 2017, 2PM – Boardmore Theatre, Cape Breton University
Join us for an afternoon of music and entertainment, featuring performances by The Cape Breton Choral, youth participants of our Songs and Stories of Migration workshops, Singing the Circle: Choral Workshop participants and a special Indigenous Welcome by Clifford Paul. The afternoon will also include several interactive multimedia activities and light refreshments.
Singing the Circle: World Singing Day
Singing the Circle: World Singing Day Date is Sunday, October 22, 2017.
The start time is 2p.m. and the ending time will be announced soon!
Singing the Circle | World Singing Day | Songs & Stories of Migration and Encounter
Singing the Circle workshops are designed to explore and celebrate the basic human act of singing and the artistic use of the human voice within the circle of life, from the time of birth through to the end of life. The 2017 World Singing Day Weekend is an opportune time for singers of all ages to gather together and explore the miracle of the singing voice alongside the esteemed Cape Breton Chorale, accompanied by the finest instrumentalists from the island and beyond. World Singing Day Weekend is a perfect occasion to join our voices together in harmony to reconcile and pay homage to Canadian confederation at 150. Come, Sing the Circle with us as we take the time to reflect, refresh, renew, and rejoice with our voice!