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Week Four

November 9, 2017
Week four of the Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter brought around the start of constructing the musical creations the youth have envisioned. Ons brought in a mobile music studio that allowed the youth to record their voices and instrumentals on a multitrack software, getting the feel of how they wanted their performances to sound. In Menelik Hall we set up various instruments and a vocal microphone. The youth started by using the mobile recording studio to create a hip-hop beat using a small mini keyboard. Next, one of our participants recorded some piano progressions, and the first bits of vocals were recorded. These vocals were mostly rap lyrics created by two other youth participants. Reverend Phyllis generously offered to return this week and help the youth to create lyrics that conveyed meaning to them. By the end of the session we had accomplished a rough version of the song that everyone was extremely happy with. At Étoile de l’Acadie the youth are starting to get very excited with the idea of performing on stage! Adding to that excitement Todd Hiscock and the Boardmore Theatre have graciously offered the use of costumes and props to the students for the October 22 performance, ‘All My Relations.’  The participants have the scene set for their final performance. The performance will include two songs performed by a pipe and drum duo and 2 participants acting in the background. For their second act they will perform the song they created and Centre Director Lisa Berthier has offered to record her voice for a piece of the song. The Membertou workshop began with a special indigenous ceremony with Shirley Christmas. The youth and facilitators all appreciated being able to take part in such a honourable ceremony.  Following the ceremony we had a jam session with the hand drum, piano, ukulele, small percussions and vocals. This energetic jam session helped us to work out a melody and chords for a chorus. Once that was down we recorded each individual instrument and voice. By the end of the workshop there were more lyrics written down for the choruses we had left. The workshops this week were extremely productive!  The youth are getting more and more excited to perform on October 22  and are getting closer and closer to completing their creative pieces. It’s an amazing experience to be able witness the passion and ideas each individual brings to these workshops. Both the participants and facilitators cannot wait to see what the remaining workshops and final showcase will bring.

Week Three

November 9, 2017

It was during the third week of the Songs and Stories of Migration and Encounter workshops that the participants fully dove into the creative process. With reflections on the words and ideas shared during the first two weeks the youth were inspired to begin brainstorming and creating their piece for the final performance on October 22.

In Menelik Hall, the facilitator Ons Barnat set up the musical instruments to let the youth practice and play with. They chose some popular songs to jam to, getting them into the rhythm and mindset of creative ideas. We welcomed back Reverend Phyllis who shared more stories of her life and experiences in Whitney Pier. She brought with her a Speech Stick – which brought everyone together to share wonderful thoughts about the people in their lives that they love and have influenced them.

 

In Cheticamp we had the amazing opportunity to sit down and have an interview with Myron Sims, a community elder from Cheticamp. Myron talked about his experience as a Chogyam Trunpa disciple in the 1970’s. Myron also showed us his piano playing skills, which developed from a long time love of Jazz and RNB music.

This week at Étoile de l’Acadie we had the opportunity to work in their beautiful music room. The youth had decided they wanted to create a song as their final showpiece. With that they started the initial steps to writing a song: creating a beat. This beat was created by one of our youth step dancers.  With that beat we recorded the first round of lyrics, focusing of the proudness of being a francophone from Cape Breton Island.

In Membertou we welcomed to new indigenous elders:  Jane and Clifford. They both had amazing and animated stories to share. Both Jane and Clifford were so excited to have the opportunity to chat and share with the youth, encouraging them to create some lyrics. By the end of our session the youth had written down some possible lyrics that were directly inspired by the elders.

This week really demonstrated the inspiration that comes from talking and learning from our elders.  It led the youth to develop their own stories and share feelings that can be expressed in their creative showcase. Everyone is looking forward to seeing what the following workshops will bring, and will continue building on what they’ve accomplished so far.

 

 

Special Events:

COVERED IN SALTWIRE MARCH 11, 2024! "Tea and conversation with elders at Cape Breton University":

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/lifestyles/photo-tea-and-conversation-with-elders-at-cape-breton-university-100946795/

TeaWithElders-FINAL

ARCHIVE OF NEWSFLASH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

TransAtlantic Pilgrimage - Celebrating African Heritage 2024

Watch this space for more details to come! This exciting festival includes film showcases plus dance & music workshops, to be held in multiple locations around Unama'ki:  Sydney, Chéticamp, Glace Bay, Membertou Heritage Park, on campus and off — and every event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so come and join in! We are honoured to feature dub poet/performer/historian Dr. Afua Cooper and Afropop/jazz/rhumba musician Mark Lenini Parselelo in this colourful celebration. For more information, or to register for the Teacher Professional Development Workshops, please e-mail sound_communities@cbu.ca or call 902-563-1696.

More details to be found under Events.

TransAtlantic-SOCIAL

March 5th, 2023 | Halifax, NS | Julian Kytasty

Links referred to in above image:

1) ICTM DIALOGUES Digital Publication ‘DIALOGUES: Towards Decolonizing Music and Dance Studies’  https://ictmdialogues.org/

2) International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) http://ictmusic.org

3) The Centre for Sound Communities (CSC) https://soundcommunities.org

4) Canadian Society for Traditional Music (CSTM) https://cstm-sctm.ca

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Celebrating Black Musics & History in Unama’ki 2022 ~ Don’t miss this mega-event!

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Exciting concerts, workshops and talks — all part of the Festival of Ukrainian Heritage, co-hosted by Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church and The Centre for Sound Communities — all taking place at the church and its Ukrainian Hall, 49 West Street in Sydney, Oct. 19 - Nov. 24, 2022. Let’s Celebrate & Learn: Разом … ‘Razom’ … Together! [See ‘Festival of Ukrainian Heritage’ for links.]

Bandura Master, Kobzar & Composer of Ukrainian Descent:

JULIAN KYTASTY IN CONCERT ~ two dates!

 

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CSC ARTICLE PUBLISHED in ‘Passages and Prosperity’, newsletter of ANSA / African Nova Scotian Affairs.
See pages 16 and 17 of the Fall 2021 issue, here.
CSTM/SCTM CONFERENCE (registration links here) and DIALOGUES EVENTS (registration links here) HAPPENING NOW!
BREAKING NEWS! MONDAY, NOV. 1, 2021 at 5:15 p.m. Atlantic Time — On CBC’s Mainstreet Cape Breton, Wendy Bergfeldt interviews the winners of the Society for Ethnomusicology’s 2021 Helen Roberts Prize. Their article, ‘Fostering Reconciliation through Collaborative Research in Unama’ki: Engaging Communities through Indigenous Methodologies and Research-Creation’, was described by the prize committee as “standing out as particularly significant for our field and our society … This is incredibly important, even urgent work.”
The CBC interview can be heard here.
Congratulations to the co-authors:  Membertou First Nation Councillor Graham Marshall, Knowledge-keeper Clifford Paul, former youth program co-ordinator Shaylene Johnson and CSC director Dr. Marcia Ostashewski.

READ THE ARTICLE THAT WON THE 2021 ICTM PRIZE HERE:

ICTM PRIZE-WINNERS! Congratulations to our esteemed research collaborators & co-authors* at Membertou First Nation on being awarded the 2021 ICTM Article Prize ~ announced last Saturday at the General Assembly of the International Council for Traditional Music.

See it here, at 2 minutes 30 seconds:
* Membertou First Nation Councillor Graham Marshall
* Traditional Knowledge-Holder Clifford Paul
* Former youth program co-ordinator Shaylene Johnson,
co-writers with CSC Director Dr. Marcia Ostashewski

The first session of this course took place Thursday, July 22 ~ inspiring and uplifting. If you’d like to join in the second / final session taking place next Thursday, July 29 at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic Time, register here. We hope you’ll join us!

The Centre for Sound Communities congratulates Dr. Sheila Christie on her recent appointment as Chair of the Department of Literature, Folklore and The Arts, and we also thank her for her many contributions to the CSC as she leaves the post of Associate Director. Dr. Christie has exerted truly magnanimous effort in support of faculty and student researchers. She operates on the basis of scholarship and a teaching practice based on care; her thoughtful, dedicated service to the CSC, CBU and wider communities is greatly appreciated by many, as is her commitment and drive, and her impressive ability to get things done. We wish her well in her next chapter!

Join the Summer Celebration!  Zoom link is here!

Welcome, Dr. Shauna MacDonald, and thank you, Dr. Sheila Christie! Watch this space for word on a special virtual event coming July 15 to which all are invited!

 

 

Registration now open for the Summer Institute 2021 Cantoring Course!

Both sessions of this course take place at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic time.

Session 1 - July 22:  Register here

Session 2 - July 29:  Register here

 

 

 

Check out the CSC YouTube Channel here to watch a recording of the panel from our June 10 event:  Disrupting the Legacies of Colonialism and White Supremacy in Music Schools ~ with thanks to all the participants and registrants in this stellar workshop, as well as to Dr. Dylan Robinson and Dr. Jeremy Strachan for organizing this inaugural DIALOGUES event. [In the coming weeks, we will re-post the video with transcribed text in the hopes of making this ~ and future DIALOGUES events ~ as accessible as possible. Be sure to visit our FB page for news of upcoming events!]

*Coming this Fall 2021!*

Stay tuned for a series of Anti-Racist Pedagogies workshops happening this fall, which will feature a stellar lineup of international scholars and practitioners! For details and registration links, keep checking in on the CSC Facebook page for updates.

New DIALOGUES project workshop to be presented June 10, 2021! Find out more here!

On Friday, May 14, 2021, the Canadian Studies Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle presented ‘Singing Sunjata’s Story in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia:  A Mali-Canada Musical Collaboration’. The event featured CSC Director Dr. Marcia Ostashewski and research colleague, culture-bearer and internationally renowned musician Lassana Diabaté in conversation and concert. A link to the event video will be released later in May, but for further information about the project, please refer to the Projects menu selection on this website, or find out more on the Bala website:  https://balafondiabate.ca/