I am back in Toronto after a wonderful winter semester sojourn at Brandon University. And really, the winter wasn't so bad. It was actually a relief to go through a winter of sunny, cold days and clean air instead of the grey, cloudy, heavy-traffic of Toronto.
In addition to teaching a wonderful group of students in a course I called, "Ethnomusicology and the Canadian Musician", I also had the opportunity to proffer some of my ideas on music and identity in the Canadian context through a series of public lectures. And I contributed to a new blog called, The Omnivorous Listener. The blog, and my presence at BU, are part of the School of Music's new Institute for Research in Music and Community. I wish the school all the best as they embark on their research. We are at a critical and pivotal moment in Canadian history as we appreciate the place musicking occupies in community(ies). Our training institutions can no longer pretend that the towers carved of elephant tusk will shield us from engaging in the symbolism musics hold at a deep socio-cultural level.
Here's a link to my Omnivorous Listener's post https://irmc.ca/2017/03/10/give-me-cannons-for-a-dinner-bell/
(photo features my friend's cat, Signy, checking out my CD and ethnomusicology collection)