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Join us for the “Bala” Watch Party
The Centre for Sound Communities warmly invites you to attend the celebration for the release of Bala, the first balafón-only album by Lassana Diabaté. Bala presents a collection of works for solo balafón. Issued by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings as part of the Sound Communities Series, the album was recorded at Cape Breton University and produced by Dr. Marcia Ostashewski. The recording brings together Mande musical traditions with original compositions inspired by Unama’kik (Cape Breton Island).
Lassana Diabaté will be joining us from Mali for the online portion of the event, which will feature musical performances by Lassana along with colleagues and collaborators who contributed to the project. The performances will be followed by a discussion about Lassana’s music and the making of the album. Each watch party location will feature local music performances, refreshments and snacks. All of them are free to attend.
Date: March 27th, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM (Atlantic Time / Nova Scotia)
Locations:
Halifax: 2439 Gottingen Street, Halifax.
Chéticamp: Le Canton culturel au 15118
Cabot Trail, Chéticamp
Sydney: Centre for Sound Communities (access via the Sullivan Field House)
Online via Zoom: https://us06web.
The Smithsonian Folkways Sound Communities Series is a partnership between the Centre for Sound Communities and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The series highlights musical projects by artists and communities whose voices have often been underrepresented, with a particular focus on creators living on the lands commonly referred to as Canada, within the broader Indigenous territories of Turtle Island.
The album is available now and can be purchased here.
The Centre for Sound Communities is hosting Dr. Brian Diettrich for a talk on Indigenous sovereignty and song this October!
The Fountain School of Performing Arts will be hosting Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy Course this September at Dalhousie University!
The World Music Pedagogy course will be held September 26th-28th and October 17th-19th 2025 and is available for certificate and graduate credit. For more information click HERE
The Centre for Sound Communities is thrilled to host Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy Course this August at Cape Breton University!
The World Music Pedagogy course will be held August 18-22, 2025 and is available for certificate and graduate credit. For more information click HERE.
Sound Stories Podcast Series is out now!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE 2024 SSHRC IMPACT AWARD WINNERS!
Dr. Marcia Ostashewski and the Building Sound Communities research team receive the 2024 SHRCC Impact Connection Award – Congratulations to SSHRC Award Recipients!
Founding Director of the Centre for Sound Communities, Dr, Marcia Ostashewski and the Building Sound Communities research team—Jody Stark, Shauna MacDonald, Graham Marshall, Laurianne Sylvester, and Afua Cooper—were awarded the 2024 Connection Award for their dedicated work promoting innovative ideas and research about people, human thought and behaviour, and culture. They and the other Impact Award Winners celebrated at the 2024 SSHRC Impact Awards in Ottawa.
Afua Cooper reciting a poem at the 2024 SSHRC Impact Awards ceremony.
Drummers John K. MacEwan and Graham Marshall (Sons of Membertou), and dancer Maisyn Sock sharing stories, songs, and dance at the 2024 SSHRC Impact Awards ceremony.
Tremendous thanks to CBU President David Dingwall for championing the Smithsonian Folkways Sound Communities partnership, the foundation for the Building Sound Communities flagship project. Team members Dean Laurianne Sylvester of CBU’s Unama’ki College, Dr. Marcia Ostashewski, and Shauna MacDonald with CBU President David Dingwall.
MP Mike Kelloway congratulates the Building Sound Communities research team for their Connection Award:
“It is an honour to congratulate Dr. Marcia Ostashewski and her collaborators on this incredible award. Her work to bring Indigenous culture, diversity, and inclusion to the music industry is truly commendable — and I’m proud that she will represent Cape Breton—Unama’ki on the national stage with this accomplishment.”
New Course BLACK MUSIC TRADITIONS Offered for WINTER 2025 Semester:
MAY 1 SPECIAL EVENT:
ANNOUNCEMENT: UPCOMING COURSES
The Centre for Sound Communities is dedicated to supporting diversity on campus through CBU programming as well as championing the careers of BIPOC and emerging scholars; one such initiative is a new online course slated for Winter 2025, developed in collaboration with (and to be taught by) CSC Lab Manager Mark Parselelo: Black Music Traditions: Africa & the Atlantic World. Mark invites students and non-specialists alike to “Come join us for a fun journey into the world of African diasporic music!”
A second course, Community Music, coming in Fall 2024, invites students to inquire about an exciting travel opportunity to Turkey!
WHAT IS THE CENTRE FOR SOUND COMMUNITIES?
The Centre for Sound Communities is an arts-led social innovation lab at Cape Breton University involved in:
• Carrying out research through artistic practices (mainly dance, music, theatre & digital media) as well as standard methods and strategies across a range of disciplines.
• Providing training for students, faculty and community partners
• Working with communities to develop connections and access resources
• Building research teams and networks to meet partners’ needs and solve concrete problems
• Addressing systemic inequities through a focus on research that serves the needs of under-represented and under-resourced populations
How do we advance research?
CSC Director Dr. Marcia Ostashewski works with an expanding network of established and emerging researchers around the world to facilitate a growing number of creative community-engaged research projects, including:
• innovative sound and movement performance pieces
• digital & digitized artifacts such as
-audio/visual materials (CDs, DVDs, documentary films)
– publications for both academic and public audiences
…with a deliberate eye toward new approaches to advancing research.
How to get involved
The Centre for Sound Communities is both a physical place and a conceptual space at the intersection of university, community and industry. The CSC hosts:
• speakers
• workshops
• artist/researcher residencies
• rehearsals and performances
• recording and production sessions.
The on-campus facility – with its specially-designed performance floors and equipment, work stations, meeting rooms, media lab and digital storage – is a collaborative work space for researchers, artist-practitioners, project groups and committees. The centre’s advanced technologies are also portable, enabling work to be conducted in-community, locally and globally.
If you are a creator with ideas for programs & projects, we can work with you to help bring your creative ideas to life!
Generous support and funding provided by…
The Centre for Sound Communities was jointly funded by Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust (NSRIT) in support of the Canada Research Chair in Communities and Culture, Dr. Marcia Ostashewski.