For each performance, a local organizer assembles a group of 16 gong players, who receive a detailed preparation package—including hand signals, performance commands, and instructional videos. On the day of the event, Tatsuya Nakatani leads an immersive workshop, guiding participants as they practice with the instruments, refine their techniques, and learn to respond to conducting cues, seamlessly integrating them into the final performance.

Nakatani travels with all necessary equipment, including his custom-made Kobo bows, mallets, gongs, and stands—ensuring each performance is fully supported by his meticulously crafted instruments. All the material is assembled the morning of the show by the hosting organization and the participating musicians.

On October 6, 2024, the ensemble made its Montreal/Quebec debut at La Sala Rossa as part of the FLUX Festival, a community initiative uniting key presenters and organizers in Montreal’s creative music scene.This concert was organized by the improvised/experimental music series and collective Mardi Spaghetti and facilitated by Raphaël Foisy-Couture, former executive director of the Canadian Music Network, in collaboration with the Participatory Creative Music Hub, Innovation en concert, and Arts in the Margins.

The Nakatani Gong Orchestra (NGO) is the world’s only bowing gong orchestra, founded and led by Japanese master percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani. A celebrated experimental percussionist, composer, and sound artist now based in New Mexico, Nakatani has been internationally active since the 1990s, releasing over 80 recordings and performing worldwide. Renowned for his innovative techniques on bowed gongs, drums, cymbals, and singing bowls, he is also an instrument maker, crafting the Kobo bows, mallets, and unique equipment used in his performances. Nakatani is also a dedicated educator, regularly conducting masterclasses at universities and music conservatories.

The performance showcased the NGO’s distinctive and mesmerizing sound.

Here’s an edited transcript of the presentation made by Tatsuya Nakatani following a solo performance preceding the NGO performance on that night:

[Loud applause]

Thank you very much for coming tonight!

My name is Tatsuya Nakatani, and I’m a percussionist. I’m originally from Osaka, Japan. I moved to the U.S. 30 years ago, and currently I live in Truth or Consequences, which is a southern New Mexico small town. I’ve been playing percussion all my life. I’m on tour. From New Mexico to here took me over two months.

[Audience laughing]

I left my house on August 5th, and I’m here today. I’ve been playing many places and I’m going back to the U.S. tomorrow. Tonight, actually! Tonight I’m driving back, and I’m going to go back towards New Mexico. 

[Impressed exhales from the public|

Tonight I’m opening for my ensemble. I have been playing a drum set since I was a high school kid. A drum set like: hi-hat, cymbals, etc. At some point I started shifting my interest to sound and more extended technique-based playing and I started playing solo percussions, and at the same time, I started bowing percussions. So in the beginning, I was using a bass bow, cello bow, violin bow, to bow on the the cymbals and the singing bowls. Around 2005, 2006, I started making my own bows, because a conventional instrument bow doesn’t work for the percussions. So I started inventing and testing prototypes. At that time I had in mind this gong orchestra project; “maybe It could be more”. So I’ve been working on this project since 2005. In my head, maybe since 2000. 

[Audience laughing]

It’s a long-time project, my lifetime project. And I started gong orchestra around 2008. It was a small ensemble, only four gongs. It’s expensive for an independent DIY musician to purchase these. 

[Audience laughing]

So I keep buying little by little, and today I have 16 gongs! Including me, there will be 17 gongs played to you. I think this is a lifetime experience, you know, 17 gongs in front of you. How many people have experienced that? 

[Audience laughing and cheering]

I’m going to explain a little bit, too. I’m Asian, and I’m from Japan. But these gongs are not from Japan, and these bows are not from Japan, either. And this music you’re about to hear is not from Japan. So nothing is about Japan. 

[Audience laughing]

I use only the timing, actually.  It’s in my biography, talking about the “Ma”. “Ma” is the timing. “Ma” is the spacing between A and B. So I use lots of ma, in my music. So everything is space and expand, and then using gravity to dawn. That’s the “Ma”. But it’s not about Japan. It’s not about any country or region. So my work is from nowhere. I live in the U.S., but I’m not American. I’m kind of away from Japan. I’m not Japanese, maybe. I don’t know [Tatsuya laughs]

So these are Chinese gongs. It’s called the Wuhan gong and it’s also called the Wind gong. It has a straight edge. Many Southeast Asian [countries] have gongs who varies from different region. Maybe some people here know more than me, but some have edges or nipples and specific tones. But this is a disc, just a bronze disc and I can change the pitches. The vibration is moving around inside. Sometimes it stays there, Sometimes it’s from the center. And sometimes I’m using two bows. Than two tones go inside the same gong, and it becomes vo, vo, vo, vo, vo, vo, vo, vo, vo [imitating oscillation sounds]. The two beating with each other; that kind of effect as well. 

So I’ve been working on bows and gongs for many years. And I try to teach people and do my orchestral work. So today we have 16 local Montreal players. We did a workshop all afternoon. 

[Loud cheering from the audience] 

I prefer you to not have earplugs, because I’m very sensitive about the sound. When I go to rock shows, I always put on earplugs.  But for this, at some point it’s loud. It’s really loud… It’s incredibly loud I’ll tell you! 

[Audience laughing]

But it’s not forever.  

[Audience laughing louder]

It’s not a constant. It’s just one moment. You just observe whole vibrations, and that’s the best. Not just from the ear. Your organs, your skin, your bone, your hair is listening to this as well. So that’s my project. It’s a vibrational project.

Maybe you can tell if you [record] with an iPhone or a smartphone to capture it when you’re back home:  “it was great, I want to post on my Instagram!”. And then it sounds like biiiiiiiipppp (imitating the sound of a flatline). 

[Audience laughing]

It’s not a sound. It sounds different. It’s a vibration. So you are here. You are about to experience it. And it’s pretty difficult to capture with microphone and recordings. But it’s live. It’s air. And you are alive here. So I hope you enjoy it. 

[…]

Thank you so much for coming again.

[Audience cheering]

__

The musicians for this Montreal edition of the Tatsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra were:

Geneviève Ackerman, Miel Azevedo, Annabelle Chouinard, Soledad Coyoli, Marilou Craft, Susanna Hood, Atsushi Ikeda, Chloe Jackson-Reynolds, Pablo Jimenez, Jean Néant aka Joni Void, Shota Nakamura, Roxanne Nesbitt, Fahmid Nibesh, Helios Paradis, Christelle Saint-Julien, and Tahlia Stacey

Comments from the Montreal participants: 

It was a true joy to participate in the immersive encounter with Tatsuya Nakatani and with such a wide array of musicians from the improvised music community. It felt like a rare gift to learn and then perform together in this way, having enough time to really enter into and taste another musician’s world and then to put that experience into practice with an audience. It was nourishing personally, musically, and in tangibly feeling creativity as and in community. I am very grateful.  — Susanna Hood

It was one of a kind experience. Playing a big gong was physically way tougher than I could imagine but I was happy to be included to such a special opportunity. I liked Tatsuya’s passion. — Shota Nakamura

Thank you so much for the opportunity. It was a really cool experience to play with so many different musicians from different backgrounds but in such a novel and unified way, learning to read those wild cues together — Atsushi Ikeda

The experience of the Tastsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra was powerful and deeply moving, Such a communal musical plunge into the world of vibrations is enough to leave shivers of happiness between the ears for a long time! It was a workshop and a concert of kindness and simplicity, in the pure joy of sharing otherworldly sounds. Long live this marvellous project, which I hope I’ll have the good fortune to witness again along the way. Thank you for everything! — Annabelle Chouinard

During this day of preparation, I had the chance to immerse myself in the world of the percussionist, through his precise knowledge of his precious and massive set of very special gongs. I lent my body to the experience in an attempt to draw the right vibrations from these instruments, and I have to say that physically it was a challenge, but one that was duly rewarded by the direct contact of the reverberations and the synergy of the ensemble in the moment. This performance and the person of Tatsuya continue to influence me in my own performances since October 6, 2024. -  Helios Paradis

__

Thanks to Li Qi for filming this performance.

Thanks to Elaine Graham and Adam from Mlynello Art Mlynello for the pictures of the event.

__

The Canadian Premiere of the Tatsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra took place on Thursday, June 15th 2017 at The Mount Community Centre in Peterborough.

It was facilitated by musician and organizer Bennet Bedoukian

The gong players were Bennet Bedoukian, Melissa Baldwin, John Climenhage, Jean-Paul Contois, Sylvie Dasne, Stephen Disher, Rob Fortin, Matt Greco, Joelle Levesque, Megan McAndrew, Leigh Macdonald, Susan Newman, Rick Sloukji, and Noah Gerard Vandelinde.

The post Nakatani Gong Orchestra — A community orchestra ringing everywhere appeared first on CNMN.

Materials:

White coffee filters (3 per star chart)
Black permanent marker
Colored washable markers (no black and brown)
Spray bottle (with water)
Pencil

Instructions for making an imaginary star chart:

Listen to a piece of music from Dark Sky Preserve, an album and book by Ian Ferrier, Louise Campbell and Sarah Beth Goncarova that explores the ways in which we connect and disconnect from ourselves and others in our search for our place in the universe.

Step 1:

On a surface that can get wet, flatten three coffee filters on top of each other. Draw dots on the top coffee filter using black permanent marker. The dots can be in a random pattern and of different sizes, or in the form of a familiar constellation. The effect will be of a star chart.

Step 2:

Draw abstract shapes and lines in and around the dots using a variety of colored washable markers. Colours can touch and overlap.

Step 3:

Holding the spray bottle one foot away from the coffee filters, spray the top coffee filter with a light mist until the colours bleed into one another.

Tip – too much water sprayed too close to the coffee filters washes out the ink. Spray lightly once or twice, then watch the ink bleed before deciding if more water is needed.

Step 4:

Peel the coffee filters apart, and place on a flat surface to dry.

Step 5:

Each coffee filter represents a unique constellation, with the black dots as stars and the colours as aurora borealis. As you listen to the music, what do you see in your night sky? Is there an animal, a bird, a person, or perhaps a mythical creature? What is it doing? Is it holding an object? What is its name? What story does it have to tell?

Once the coffee filters are dry, use the dots and colours as a guide to sketch a different constellation on each coffee filter using a pencil. Trace the pencil lines with a permanent marker.

Optional:

Many musicians have made music inspired by the cosmos. Listen to music of your choice and make more coffee filter constellations. Place the resulting coffee filter constellations in relation to each other to form your own version of a night sky.

To go further and create your own music inspired by the night sky, contact: mlouisecampbell@gmail.com

The post Stories of the night sky appeared first on CNMN.

« solidARiTy » as a format requires rather simple conditions which can be appropriated by most to create their own musical interventions in public space. 

What is needed: 

1. A sculpture or structure* of which the materials it is made of resonate when struck.

2. A group of people to participate (2 or more): the participants don’t need music training but they should be able to follow instructions and execute (though not necessarily perfectly) at least simple rhythmic patterns and coordination. 

   1. Must have basic mobility to stand or be close enough to the sculpture in question;

   2. Must be able to use an object to strike the sculpture softly;

   3. Recommend ages: 8+

3. One or two group leaders (depending on the size of the group). The group leader ideally is a drummer or other musician who has a certain facility with rhythmic motif invention and textural exploration, group conducting and structural improvisation. 

4. Soft mallets** (a single mallet or a pair) per participant

HOW-TO:

The musical structure involves a basic “follow the leader” or call-and-response format. In its most basic form, the group leader is responsible for inventing the rhythmic motifs that the group will then copy and play in unison. Depending on the size of the group and the ability of each participant, the performance can break into sub-groups playing contrasting material, thus enriching or complexifying the sonic landscape. Texture and tone are rich parameters to explore in addition to rhythm alone. Each sculpture or structure will offer its unique timbre to play with. 

Improvising is, for some, the simplest way to go about this musical intervention. However, some leaders may choose to prepare their motifs or ideas in advance. 

Essentially, this format can be used simply for the joy of music-making and sonic exploration and collective creation, or it can also stand as a pretext or combined effort for a political action and expression. I believe the form and proposition is simple enough that it can also be adapted to various contexts and needs.

*Disclaimer: some sculptures existing in public space may not actually be of public ownership. Interact at your own discretion and be prepared to explain your activity to private security guards or law enforcement. 

**Using soft mallets protects the structures from scratching or denting. 

My process: How I came to organise « solidARiTy »

Over the years, I’ve made a habit of “hitting” on pretty objects to see how they sound. I’ve come to spontaneously explore a variety of resonant sculptures in this way, and this has remained a personal enjoyment and curiosity. In particular, I have been enamoured with the Riopelle Fountain “La Joute” for many years because of its imposing size and beauty, and to the particularly varied and rich timbre from the bronze it is made of. I fantasized about a large scale composition utilising live performers and roboticized mechanics for performance… but all these fantasies were rather out of my reach. I tried to imagine a simpler way to interact with the sculpture, but was caught in the weeds of wanting to “compose” something.

At the same time, I felt a rising need to use music in the public space to express solidarity for the many atrocities of today. For me, I felt most outraged about the genocide in Palestine and deportations of migrants in the US and beyond, though there is no shortage of injustice and violence in this world, and all struggles are interconnected. 

Suddenly, the two needs and desires collided. I could create music with the sculpture in the context of a spontaneous political action. Using improvisation for the music expression was the easiest way to get the idea off the ground and to get more people involved in an uncomplicated format that required little to no preparation. In this way, I could also solicit musicians and non-musicians, which was more pertinent to the political and collective intention of the intervention. 

The political aspect of the work came down to wearing banners we made at an earlier date during performance so that passers-by would know what we were evoking, and to make it clear that we weren’t simply making music for the joy of it (nothing wrong with that though!). Spontaneously, and through the chance of circumstance, voice, singing and chanting became a large part of this performance. As I had made it known prior that this was a possibility, and as I knew the potential of the people participating, I was not surprised that it happened. However, I was surprised at how it happened, what transpired, and the emotional potency of the moment. 

Capturing it on video was intentional, as the goal was to widely share the action online, beyond the live moment witnessed by passersby and deeply shared by the participants.

The post solidARiTy : musical action in public space appeared first on CNMN.

About Unity Charity
Unity Charity programs are organized in three streams:

1. Inspire: performance-based single workshops offered primarily in schools to introduce youth to hip hop art forms as powerful tools for expression and overcoming challenges.

2. Engage: weekly community programs that build resilience, social networks and skills. These programs are led by peers and mentors.

3. Empower: advanced programs that work towards professional development and launching careers. The programs focus on building economic prospects, leadership skills development, and career exploration.

Featured Program: Rough Draft

Rough Draft is led by facilitator Adrian Bernard, and as part of the ‘Empower’ stream is an incubator program to help MCs launch their careers. The program focuses on developing technical and business skills in the music industry. Adrian brings in guests from the industry to support participants in developing professional aspects of recording, writing, performing, and career building. 

Competencies needed to facilitate well

Training in youth work: Unity Charity trains their artist-instructors in youth work and in conflict resolution.

Able to hold space for participants: facilitators need to be able to balance skills development with holding space and building community. This means an awareness of when to slow down, take time just to chat, and build community among participants.

Continuous development of your craft: Facilitators need to be good at their own craft that they are teaching, and also continue to learn and get better at their craft. 

Support participants wherever they’re at: meet participants where they are at, support them to reach their goals.

What Does Success Look Like?

When participants are clearly enjoying themselves in the program, that’s a good session, and if participants keep in touch with each other after the program ends, that’s program success. Success is also when participants have improved artistically through the program, developed their networks and professional skills, and developed their community. Long-term success is building self-expression and leadership, such as when former participants become leaders and board members at Unity Charity. 

View sections of the documentary: 

00:00 Introduction to Unity Charity and streams of programming

01:48 Rough Draft Incubator program

03:12 Importance of community in hip hop

06:37 Competencies artists need to facilitate

08:32 Indicators of Success

09:38 Hip hop as an art form and a culture

The post Unity Charity: Empowering Youth Through Hip Hop appeared first on CNMN.

Context for the Project

The project was led by Rosa John (Ciboney Taino Nation) and Melvin John (Plains Cree Nation), who describe the devastating impacts of colonization, and the role of music in healing. Melvin John describes how the connection to song, language and land was broken because of Canada’s residential schools. Participating artist Tony Duncan (Apache-Arikara and Hidatsa Nations) describes how the drum connects people to the heartbeat and to Mother Earth. Rosa John describes how children are the focus for Indigenous nations, at the heart of everything they do. 

Design of Naskwahamâtowin

The project used a mobile recording studio that visited four reservation schools each week for 12 weeks. Children at each school worked together to write and record songs with producer Cindy Paul. Children also worked with guest artists, such as Tony Duncan (flute player and hoop dancer) and Deb Houle (singer-songwriter). A therapist was always available at every session for participants.

At the end of 12 weeks, children from all four schools travelled to the Kehewin Native Dance Theatre studio for one week to create one final song: Mistatim, Cree for ‘horse teachings’. The children learned about horses and horse teachings from Equine Therapist Jody John (Plains Cree Nation), and got to ride a horse. Following those experiences, the children collectively composed the song Mistatim, writing the lyrics, and singing or playing instruments, which was recorded on site by Melvin John. A therapist was also on site for the week.

The song Mistatim is available through all streaming platforms under the name Nikamo Collective. The music video for Mistatim  is available on YouTube.

Competencies needed to do this work 

Listening: humans have two ears and one mouth to listen twice as much. Listening and being present is key to connecting well. In the sessions, be attentive to each kid and how they can and want to contribute. Let the kids do what they do best in their own unique way.

Be authentic: Be yourself, and follow through on what you promise. Kids know if you are not genuine. You need to know yourself and be comfortable with yourself to engage authentically with participants.

Build relationships that are culturally sensitive and specific: the project was successful in part because the team visited each school personally, and the weekly sessions happened at each school. This helped demonstrate commitment and built trust over time. The project worked because it was specific to that geographic areas and the specific Indigenous nations there. Any project working within Indigenous communities must be culturally sensitive to that area.

What does success look like?

Success can be seen in smiles, when the participants are clearly enjoying themselves. The project leaders saw kids offering to contribute more over the project. 

View sections of the documentary: 

00:00 Project introduction

01:22 Partnering with a non-Indigenous organization

02:36 Project design

03:12 ‘Mistatim’ horse teachings and song creation

04:28 Artists involved in project

05:36 Traditional Indigenous culture and healing

07:18 Key Aspects to Success of Project

10:56 Competencies and advice 

12:48 importance of community and children in Indigenous worldviews

The post Kehewin Native Dance Theatre: Healing through Songwriting for Indigenous Youth appeared first on CNMN.

Purpose and Context

CMSWR aims to build musical skills of children and youth as well as fostering relationships and building community. The school offers one-on-one music lessons and group music programs, all delivered by volunteer music teachers. 

Social service agencies refer kids to CMSWR, and families can also fill out a self-referral form. The school serves many families who are new Canadians, or who have come to Canada within the last five years. An additional 30% of participants are referred through mental health agencies. 

In addition to providing a variety of music programming, CMSWR also lends instruments to families to be able to practice at home, and has a nutrition program for families in the building when lessons are offered.

Structure of Lessons: Student-led learning

Music classes at CMSWR are student-led rather than curriculum-driven. Volunteer instructors get training to focus on meeting students where they are at, whether a student wants to learn classical repertoire, pop repertoire, or improvisation. Similarly some students want to learn an instrument to a high level of proficiency; other students are looking for enjoyment and connection. 

Activities

First lesson is the ‘get to know you lesson’. Try talking to the student about their favourite music; listen to some examples together. This helps bonding between student and teacher, and helps the teacher understand what the students likes to listen to and how they interact.

Working with neuro-diverse students requires different strategies within a music lesson, such as getting students on their feet, use visuals, and helping students focus on tasks.

Competencies to do this work well

Flexibility: teachers need to be adaptable and student-first, particularly in working with students from diverse cultures, with diverse needs. This sometimes means that teachers need to take their own egos out of the picture, as some students may not be there to become high-level musicians or may not respond to conservatory-style teaching methods.

Strong musicianship: teachers need to be proficient in their instrument, with a level of theory to support students with diverse interests and needs.

Able to connect with kids: instructors need to want to work with kids, and be sensitive to each student’s particular context. Instructors need to genuinely enjoy working with kids. 

Attitude that aligns with the school: instructors need to be able to work with kids and support them on their music journey. 

What does success look like?

Success will look differently depending on each student. In some cases, when a student feels motivated rather than discouraged, or figures out a particular skill. Longer term, success is when students continue to love music even after graduating from the program. 

Another indicator of success is seeing parents forming connections with each other, particularly immigrant parents connecting with other parents who speak the same language.

End-of-year concerts often show all facets of these successes, as students feel a sense of accomplishment in performing, and friends and family are gathering together to support and celebrate the students.

View sections of the documentary:

00:00 Overview of school

02:15 Social and musical goals of program

04:51 Student-focused rather than curriculum-focused

06:41 Competencies that teachers need

10:54 What success looks like

The post Community Music School of Waterloo Region appeared first on CNMN.

Programs

Music in Communities (MiC) offers diverse programming to support people in rural Nova Scotia. Executive Director Kim Barlow notes that people in their communities experience food insecurity, housing insecurity, mental health challenges, and forms of isolation.  MiC has worked on many kinds of programs for diverse groups within their communities, including newcomers, youth at risk, people with disabilities, and seniors. They are also partnering with Mi’kmaq nations to collaborate on musical programming serving Indigenous communities. Sometimes MiC initiates programming, and sometimes they respond to community requests for programs or facilitators.

Here are a few featured initiatives:

After-school programs: MiC has two after-school programs. One program is for kids aged 9–12 to learn the ukulele. The program aims to build skills, but also to provide fun and less structure for kids to enjoy themselves outside of school. Instructors include music-based games, and structured and unstructured time each week. The second program is a songwriting and performance program for youth aged 13–17. These older participants generally want to play music but have not had an opportunity to play with and for others live. MiC also hosts monthly open mic nights for the teens, open to friends and family. 

Community Song Circles: Executive Director Kim Barlow hosts weekly song circles open to anyone. Participants take turns playing songs for each other, often inviting the group to join in. While the circle is open to anyone, this program tends to attract older musicians. 

Present Moment Singers: a weekly sing-a-long session for seniors at a retirement residence in Wolfville, Present Moment Singers is led by Wendy LaPierre and Tyler McDonald. Seniors connect and have fun singing songs together for an hour each week.

Queer Choir: based in Wolfville, the choir welcomes queer community members to come together to sing, and have a queer-dedicated weekly space. The choir approached MiC to provide some leadership to guide rehearsals, although the rehearsals are more shared space to make music together, with some performances through the year.

Featured Activity: Ukulele tag

An activity suitable for children, this activity uses the classic game of tag, in which one person tries to touch the other players to get them out. When a player is tagged, they go to ‘jail’ located next to one of the instructors. Another player can get their friend out of jail by repeating a chord progression or melody played on the ukulele by the instructor. Ukulele tag helps kids learn ukulele skills within a fun context so that the learning is almost subconscious.

Competencies to do this work well

Able to connect with specific groups: facilitators need to be able to be responsive to the specific communities they work with. For example, instructors leading the kids programming should be able to connect with kids and keep programming engaging.

Have structure but be flexible: Musicians always have a plan so that there is structure for each session, but they are flexible to adapt to the specific needs and energy of the group. Providing choices for participants is also an important part of this flexibility, checking in at the beginning to figure out what participants would like to do. 

Diverse musical skills: Musicians working in community contexts need a wide skill set. Being able to play several instruments will allow a facilitator to adapt and support participant needs in more ways.

Valuing collaborative processes and shared leadership: Facilitators at MiC approach participatory music with the understanding that the program is a collaborative process. Everyone has experience to bring to a group. The facilitators look for ways to encourage participants to teach and share their own knowledge to create environments of shared leadership. 

What does success look like?

The key outcome for programs is that people are excited about all things music. In particular, facilitators hope the kids and youth get joy out of making music well before feeling like it is work. Success is also defined by good engagement in programs and events, including the numbers of people showing up to programs and events, and also people reporting that they are feeling good about sharing their music with others, appreciating the music shared by others, and feeling more connected to each other. 

View sections of the documentary:

00:00 Overview

02:46 After-school programs

06:53 Community song circles

07:31 Present Moment Singers

08:58 Queer Choir

10:00 Competencies

12:04 What does success look like

The post Music in Communities: Supporting local artists and building rural communities appeared first on CNMN.

Louise Campbell is a musician and cultural mediator in Montreal, who created the workshop Taking it Outside: Making Music & Art Inspired by Nature.  In 2023, Louise created a version of this participatory workshop for her sound installation at Parc Frédéric-Back featuring music from her album Sources: Music inspired by the St. Lawrence River. Louise picked Parc Frédéric-Back in part because it is a fully accessible urban park. 

Introducing clients of The C.A.R.E. Centre

While Louise worked with many different participants and groups, the documentary shows Louise working with clients of The C.A.R.E. Centre, a recreational and educational day program that enhances the lives, functioning and communication of adults with severe physical disabilities. Olivia Quesnel, Executive Director of The C.A.R.E. Centre, describes how C.A.R.E. clients, all over the age of 21, have strong connections with music, and use music to be expressive and creative. 

Featured activities

Louise provides multiple ways of facilitating to include participation from verbal and non-verbal participants. In the workshop, Louise asks participants to listen to the music in the park, and imagine or draw a bird as they listen to the music. She invites participants to imagine where the bird lives. Next, Louise hands out brightly coloured scarfs and invites participants to move like their birds, with options for participants to share their movements with each other.

Competencies needed to do this work

Empathy: Listening to participants and what they want, then reflecting that listening by making changes as a facilitator, rather than making participants change. 

Desire to connect with people: Being curious about people and seeking to understand how they experience the world, which ensures facilitation is more responsive.

Skilled musicianship: A high level of musical skill is required to be able to work with participant interests and abilities within participatory creative music. 

Engaging in shared creativity: Louise describes excitement in creating music with others, and Olivia describes the importance of creative exploration for participants.

Advice for Community-Engaged Musicians

The workshop is successful if people are having fun. If people aren’t having fun, then adapt the activities, changing or tweaking so that participants stay engaged and have a good time.

Musicians can pick up the skills they need as they go along, but they need the heart and desire to do this work to be able to do it well. The desire to connect is most important. 

Mediation is important in that it is a relationship. Making music is about exchanging something of each other to create together.

View sections of the documentary:

0:00   Introducing Louise Campbell 

01:48 Introducing clients of The C.A.R.E. Centre 

03:39 Featured activities 

06:35 Competencies needed to do this work

08:44 What does success look like? 

09:25 Advice for community-engaged musicians

The post Louise Campbell: Participatory Creative Music in Nature with Adults with Disabilities appeared first on CNMN.

About musicians Nour Kaadan and Tarek Ghriri

Nour Kaadan and Tarek Ghriri, the founders of Music from Hope, started offering workshops for refugee youth  in Beirut, Lebanon, and are now based in Toronto. The musicians lead music workshops, and use sound, songwriting, body percussion, and nonviolent communication to encourage interaction between participants. No background in music is necessary.  The goal of Music From Hope is for participants to have a safe place to feel and express their ideas through music. 

Design of Music From Hope workshops

Refugee families don’t tend to stay in temporary housing for more than one month after arriving in Canada, so the youth  may arrive or leave the program suddenly. Nour and Tarek design a set of 3 to 4 workshops so that participants can join at any point, with youth who have attended more sessions leading the newer participants. Each workshop is structured in three parts: warmup, body of main activities, and closing activities. 

Featured activities

Warm-up: Tarek leads the warm-up that uses a mirroring exercise to match the energy of the kids (shy or energetic). Tarek also runs around with high energy to help kids focus on him and lose their shyness.

Recognize music notes: use music note cards to learn different rhythms and musical patterns. The facilitators then get participants to use the cards to lead each other.

Participant sharing: Tarek and Nour invite participants to share a song or activity. Sometimes this is then used in the next workshop.

Pass the shaker: Hit the drum on the beat for kids to pass the shaker in rhythm, and when the shaker stops, that participant is the leader of the exercise.

Competencies needed to do this work 

Improvisation skills: to be able to improvise musically, and also to work through unexpected ideas or reactions to workshop activities is important. The workshop can change significantly in following participants. Being adaptive keeps the workshops fun and exciting and engages participants. 

Responsive and adaptive: Paying attention to the participants, meeting their energy, and responding accordingly to make sure everyone feels included and the participant needs are met.

Knowledge of immigration/refugee experience: Nour and Tarek have experienced global displacement, which helps in building connections with newcomer youth. Yet both facilitators are careful not to assume they know any participant’s experience.

What does success look like?

One outcome for the workshops is to build respect among participants through the musical games. The kids are very creative, so success is seeing the kids over the set of workshops becoming comfortable to lead the sessions, even telling the facilitators to step aside so they can lead their idea.

View sections of the documentary: 

0:00 Artist introduction 

0:53 Project overview 

5:36 Featured activities  

6:43 Competencies
8:41 Advice

The post Music From Hope: Empowering Refugee Youth through Creative Music-Making appeared first on CNMN.

Allison is a choral conductor and community music practitioner in Nelson, British Columbia. She has organized 5 community choirs of a variety of ages. The documentary features:

Fireworks Community Choir, open to any and all singers for one annual event, open to as many people who would like to come and sing together in the community. In 2023, the choir had 250 participants, which was the first time this special choir happened since the pandemic. 

Lalin Vocal Ensemble, an auditioned choir of young adults that grew out of the youth choir program, as there were singers in the teen group wanting to continue , and Allison identified opportunities for leadership and mentorship development, as well as digging into more challenging repertoire. 

Philosophy underpinning choral work

To Allison, it is a misperception that a focus on community-building in choirs will compromise musical excellence. By nurturing trust, and integrating intentional social interactions such as eating together or going on a trip together, the music changes in a profound way.

As someone with mixed heritage, Allison finds global music provides a lens to look at ways in which people share the human experience. Approaching repertoire is a way into another culture’s music based on integrity: how do these words resonate for each singer? What do the words mean? Singing diverse repertoire helps singers connect across cultural differences.

Competencies to do this work well

Cultural competency:  In choosing diverse repertoire, Allison ensures that music is appropriate to be sung. Some cultures, especially Indigenous societies, do not share songs outside of particular contexts or people, unless a song is gifted. Additionally, some groups who have a history of oppression may be reclaiming their own music, so Allison is careful to build relationships to navigate these choices. This involves talking to many people of those cultures, and knowing how to own up to a mistake if it is made. 

Empathy and space for emotions: If a rehearsal goes by without the choir laughing, something is missing. People may express themselves joyfully one day, or more sorrowfully the next. Trust that whatever is presented is what needs to happen. Mutual trust allows grace to be given to the facilitator as well since there is a mutual understanding and forgiveness that has been cultivated. 

Embodiment of group values: Leading by example and igniting joy, kindness, confidence and compassion all help the group to reach those goals faster collectively by seeing an example of it. 

Conducting is relational: rather than the conductor “making” the music, Allison sees conducting as in electricity, that energy passes through the conductor to singers. Conducting is relational, taking the energy and reflecting it to the group and the audience. 

Musical skills responsive to the participants: singers describe Allison’s musical ability in knowing what to keep and what to let go of. Allison is trained as a singer and conductor, but she is compelled to use that training to build community.

View sections of the documentary:

00:00 Introducing Allison and her choral work 

01:07 Fireworks Community Choir 

02:30 Lalin Vocal Ensemble 

03:44 Philosophy of choral singing

07:48 Competencies

The post Allison Girvan: Music is the Vehicle for Community Building appeared first on CNMN.