Cassondra Murray (2025 — present)

I am thrilled to join the CNMN board of direc­tors to con­tribute to a nation­al net­work that fos­ters inclu­sive, exper­i­men­tal, and bound­ary-push­ing music-mak­ing across Cana­da. CNMN’s com­mit­ment to equi­ty, acces­si­bil­i­ty, and  aligns close­ly with my val­ues of ampli­fy­ing under­rep­re­sent­ed voic­es as a mul­ti­ply mar­gin­al­ized artist. I am espe­cial­ly excit­ed to bring my expe­ri­ence in par­tic­i­pa­to­ry prac­tice, com­mu­ni­ty advo­ca­cy, and restora­tive approach­es to sup­port CNMN’s mis­sion and equi­ty ini­tia­tives, while help­ing cul­ti­vate spaces where cre­ative music can thrive for every­one.  For me, this role is not only about gov­er­nance but also about active­ly shap­ing a sec­tor that val­ues deep lis­ten­ing, mutu­al care, and trans­for­ma­tive artis­tic practice

Cas­son­dra Mur­ray (they/them) is a neu­ro­di­ver­gent, 2SLGBTQ exper­i­men­tal vocal artist and com­mu­ni­ty advo­cate based in St. John’s, New­found­land and Labrador (Ktaqmkuk). Their work explores extend­ed vocal tech­niques and impro­vi­sa­tion­al prac­tices, cre­at­ing immer­sive per­for­mances described as “haunt­ing” and “anar­chis­tic.” Mur­ray has per­formed with ensem­bles includ­ing Vertrek and VocalX, and at fes­ti­vals such as New Music Edmonton’s Now Hear This, New­found Music Fes­ti­val, Fes­ti­val of New Dance, Hold Fast, Sound Sym­po­sium, as well as Audiopol­li­na­tion (Guelph) and Night Music (St. John’s). Their artistry is doc­u­ment­ed in Voic­es Found: Free Jazz & Singing (Chris Toneli).

A cer­ti­fied Peer Sup­port­er and Restora­tive Jus­tice prac­ti­tion­er, Mur­ray applies a sur­vivor-informed, anti-oppres­sive lens to com­mu­ni­ty work, orga­ni­za­tion­al gov­er­nance, and sys­temic change. They serve as the New­found­land & Labrador region­al rep­re­sen­ta­tive for Sur­vivors for Jus­tice Reform. Mur­ray has held board and com­mit­tee roles with Vio­lence Pre­ven­tion Aval­on East, St. John’s Sta­tus of Women Coun­cil, Per­sis­tence The­atre, Peer Sup­port Canada’s Advi­so­ry Com­mit­tee, Equal Voice NL’s Lead­er­ship Com­mit­tee, and the Social Jus­tice Co-op NL’s Trans­for­ma­tive Jus­tice Com­mit­tee. In recog­ni­tion of their advo­ca­cy, they received the YWCA Social Jus­tice and Advo­ca­cy Award (2025).

Murray’s prac­tice cen­ters equi­ty, acces­si­bil­i­ty, vol­un­teerism, and rela­tion­al account­abil­i­ty, bridg­ing art, advo­ca­cy, and trans­for­ma­tive com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment. They are com­mit­ted to ampli­fy­ing mar­gin­al­ized voic­es, fos­ter­ing deep lis­ten­ing and mutu­al care, and explor­ing the poten­tial of cre­ative prac­tice to build inclu­sive and vibrant musi­cal communities.