#uoftmusic

[ethnotestoronto]

Kensington Market Sound and Music Research Project

The Kensington Market Sound and Music Research Project (KMSMRP) is a research group formed by ethnomusicology students and faculty under the Kensington Market Research Project (KMRP) headed by Dean Joshua Barker and Dr. Emily Hertzman. This research project is part of University of Toronto Anthropology’s Ethnography Lab. Research materials collected will be part of the KMRP’s Kensington Market archive, and the KMSMRP will present their research at the Ethnography Lab on February 22 (more information to follow).

The KMSMRP is headed by Farzaneh Hemmasi (Assist. Professor of Ethnomusicology) and includes current and former graduate students Dennis Lee (MA candidate Ethnomusicology), Greg Wilson (MA candidate Music Technology and Digital Media), Jardena Gertler-Jaffe (MA Ethnomusicology, 2017), Jennie Horton (MA candidate Ethnomusicology), and Ryan Persadie (MA Ethnomusicology, 2017).

Though each researcher is working on individual projects, they explore many common themes and topics—including how Kensington Market, its residents, businesses, and visitors are impacted by larger patterns of development, real estate market shifts, and cultural policy in Toronto; how the neighborhood communities and music scenes situate themselves in relation to conceptions of Kensington Market culture and its history; how businesses in the Market are affected by Toronto’s economic and cultural development policies and how they interact with municipal government; and, investigating Kensington Market as an immigrant neighborhood currently and historically.

The KMSMRP, which began in May 2017, has carried on through the summer and is now manifest as a directed reading course led by Farzaneh Hemmasi. The collaborative nature of the project allows the group to share findings, read and discuss relevant literature, and provide insightful feedback on each other’s work. Through collaborative ethnographic fieldwork, each researcher has developed their own research projects as outlined below.

Dennis Lee, “Coalition: Contemporary Circuits of Punk and Heavy Metal Through Kensington Market” – Dennis is conducting research at Kensington Market’s punk and metal venue, Coalition. Attending shows and interviewing musicians, a co-owner, and booker at Coalition, Dennis’s project focuses on how this venue fits into the larger punk and metal scene in Toronto—a smaller scene than expected for such a large city—taking into consideration issues of gentrification and rising rents that makes it increasingly difficult for venues to operate, and for musicians and fans to live in the city. The project also examines how Coalition functions as a hub in the larger network of venues used for touring by independent bands.

Greg Wilson, “Kensington Audio-Visual Histories” – Greg’s work utilizes archival collections, field recordings, and audio and visual manipulation to construct documentary soundscapes to be used in an original work of sonic art. Using images found in the Toronto City Archives which depict daily life in the Market, his project identifies specific locations in the photos and uses these locations as sites for recording. Greg’s research also considers the capacity of soundscapes and sonic environments/ecologies to act as a shared cultural heritage. The materials gathered and created for this project can also be used as a tool for augmented reality apps of Kensington Market, or as a standalone set of images and soundscapes in an online or real life exhibition.

Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, “Music and the Labour Movement in Jewish Kensington Market” – Jardena’s work focuses on Kensington Market’s history as a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, specifically on tracking changes in musical repertoire and musical culture as Jewish residents moved out of Kensington to north of Toronto. In researching this period—from the 1930s to 1960s—part of Jardena’s ethnographic work entails interviewing people who sang in Jewish choirs or played in orchestras, as well as those who had direct contact with the aforementioned group. She also utilizes the Ontario Jewish Archives as she researches changes in Jewish repertoire as the community moved away from the Market.

Jennie Horton, “Music Venues in Kensington Market: Business Models and Cultural Policy” – Jennie’s research follows four venues in Kensington Market—Pamenar, Coalition, Grossman’s Tavern, and Poetry Jazz Café—and how they are affected by current municipal policy under Toronto’s “Music City” initiative. In light of recent venue closures across the city, Jennie uses Kensington venues to understand larger issues of gentrification, rising rents, zoning problems, and how venues interact with municipal government—while at the same time considering how these venues’ location in Kensington Market makes their situation unique. Jennie’s fieldwork consists of attending shows and city council meetings, as well as interviewing musicians, business owners, and officials affiliated with the Market.

Ryan Persadie, “Round Venue: Queer People of Colour Performing Burlesque in Kensington” – Ryan’s work explores female queer of color burlesque performances at “Round Venue”, a small nightclub in Kensington Market. At these burlesque events, queer-identifying women of color make up the majority of the cast, and their performances—often heavily politicized—critique, resist, and challenge white supremacy in the Canadian nation. Ryan’s research also investigates “Round Venue” and Kensington Market as potential spaces for belonging for queer people of color, in contrast to Toronto’s gay village, which adheres to homonormativities that default whiteness. By attending performances and interviewing queer-identifying burlesque performers, Ryan’s research investigates these concepts, as well as examines “Round Venue” as a micro-neighborhood of queerness within a larger, heteronormative Kensington Market.

photo: “Sign for Kensington Market” - Josh Evnin

[jamiedrake]

One of the great parts about being back at school has been getting to coach and play with the @uoftmusic Percussion Ensemble. I've gone from being the youngest undergrad to being the oldest person in the department by a few years which is alternately a bit terrifying but also exciting to be able to pass on a lot of the knowledge that I've accrued from playing with @torqpercussion. If you're looking for something to do tomorrow (Tuesday) night, please come check out our concert "Strategies Against Architecture" featuring music by Omar Daniel, Nigel Westlake and Paul Lansky. 7:30pm, Walter Hall in the Edward Johnson building, free admission - or come at 6pm for the public screening of a documentary about the @nyo_can. 📷: Dorothy Curtis • • • #myofficethisweek #percussionensemble #uoftmusic #paullansky #threads #percussionquartet #percussionnerd #passingthetorch #orsomething (at Walter Hall - University of Toronto) https://www.instagram.com/p/BosWBgZH13I/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14pcufoltuh4d

[chezvivian]

@kwanlyndon 's #VictoriaCollege #UofT #UofTLife #UofTMusic @UofT @UofTMusic #music #Toronto #Canada #architecture (at University of Toronto)

[naogata]

Favorite tweets: Composer and violinist Alice Hong is aboard a Holland-America cruise ship, touring Alaska and the North Pacific and playing chamber music as part of Lincoln Center Stage. She’s one of 30 classical musicians under 30: https://t.co/rdvhkDJPoN | @UofTMusic @TorontoSymphony pic.twitter.com/ICxnBBKKt7— CBC Music (@CBCMusic) August 13, 2018

http://twitter.com/CBCMusic

[ethnotestoronto]

A quick look into what Yun Emily Wang (PhD year 6) has been up to!

I presented a paper and a roundtable talk at the MusCan/CTSM/IASPM joint meeting in May, presented as part of a special panel on Queer Asian Studies in June at the East Asian Library, and coordinated a call-and-response for the Association for Chinese Music Research's newsletter (which explored the politics of Chineseness of Chinese-Canadians/American musics). I also played "sound guy" for a Taiwanese LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Toronto, newly formed in response to the recent constitution ruling, for the Pride parade.

The highlight of the summer was that I participated in the 9th International Doctoral Workshop in Ethnomusicology at the University of Hildesheim's World Music Centre in Germany. Hildesheim is a beautiful small town about an hour south of Hanover. The workshop was intimate but excitingly rigorous. Each of the 18 participants from around the world presented on our dissertation research and then held seminar-style discussions on our projects. There was a mind-boggling array of methodologies and theoretical approaches. Discussions--about research, writing, #gradlife, and the ethics of ethnomusicologizing in today's world--continued through meals, coffee breaks, scenic walks around town, and over beers (of course). My favorite moment of the workshop was when we climbed to the top of Hildesheim's post-WW2 reconstructed bell tower. The bells rang and vibrated underneath our feet, and everyone immediately whipped out phones to record.  

[ethnotestoronto]

Here’s a student update from Nadia Younan (PhD year 4)!

I began this summer by jumping into my first fieldwork site abroad. As part of my multi-sited research, which uses Toronto and the GTA as “home base,” I became well acquainted with the Assyrian community in Chicago, Illinois. Some highlights of my trip include crashing a wedding with Assyrian singer Sargon Youkhanna, and making it to the official Instagram page of Assyrian music legend Linda George—both of whom kindly took the time to let me interview them. While in Chicago, I met with the president of the Assyrian American National Federation, who encouraged me to attend the 84th Annual [Assyrian] National Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. This brought me to my second fieldwork site, albeit for a bit of a shorter trip, at the end of August. While at the convention I was able to network with Assyrians from various places predominantly in the United States, many of whom I am looking forward to seeing in California this fall. By invitation of the event’s educational coordinator, I presented my research as part of the convention’s Educational Program. It was a unique opportunity to be able to have this particular audience and I am most thankful for the enthusiasm of the older gentleman who was sitting in the front row and singing along to my musical examples.

Nadia has also provided a photo from her fieldwork -- "Linda George and bagiye dancers at the 84th Assyrian National Convention"

[ethnotestoronto]

A student update from Dennis Lee (MA year 2) --

I was fortunate to have two opportunities to present at academic conferences this summer. At the IASPM/Canada 150 conference here at the University of Toronto I presented a paper entitled “Pleaides’ Dust: From the Islamic Golden Age to Contemporary Québécois Death Metal,” and at the International Association of Metal Music Studies meeting at the University of Victoria I presented “‘Negeri Seribu Bangsa’: Musical Hybridization in Contemporary Indonesian Death Metal.”

In June I started doing research with the Ethnography Lab as part of their ongoing Kensington Market Project. The lab is run by the U of T Department of Anthropology under the direction of Dr. Joshua Barker and Dr. Emily Hertzman and has recently expanded to include research from the Ethnomusicology department under the guidance of Dr. Farzaneh Hemmasi. My contribution focuses on punk and metal scenes in Kensington Market and Toronto more broadly.

Lastly, I co-organized the Multidisciplinary Creative Conference with three other graduate students in different areas of music (Kathryn Knowles, composition; Eveline Mate, performance; and Greg Wilson, music technology). The event combined performance, creation, and research across disciplines. Rather than a traditional conference format, panels took the form of interactive presentations, performances, and workshops. We began planning in the spring, and it took place September 23 and 24, featuring a keynote by Dr. Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri from Cornell University.

[ethnotestoronto]

Applying for an MA or PhD in Ethnomusicology at University of Toronto? 

The online application for the 2018-2019 academic year is now available! The deadline for submitting the online app is December 1, 2017. Supporting documents must be received by December 11, 2017.

Information about the application process and requirements can be found here - https://music.utoronto.ca/applying-auditions.php

Other helpful links include - 

Ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto website, which has more information on our graduate programs, as well as information about our faculty and graduate students - http://individual.utoronto.ca/kippen/Ethnomusicology/index.html

The University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies Admissions FAQ addresses many common application queries - https://apply.sgs.utoronto.ca/faq.aspx

[ethnotestoronto]

"Popular Music and Society in Iran: New Directions"

Coming up this month, Farzaneh Hemmasi (Assistant Professor), Nasim Niknafs (Assistant Professor Music Ed.), and Hamidreza Salehyar (PhD) will be speaking at the conference "Popular Music and Society in Iran: New Directions". See the poster and link below!

https://iranianstudies.macmillan.yale.edu/popular-music-and…

[ethnotestoronto]

Recently released from University of Hawai’i Press, “Vamping the Stage: Female Voices of Asian Modernity” includes two essays written by U of T Ethnomusicology faculty Joshua Pilzer and Farzaneh Hemmasi. “The ‘Comfort Women’ and the Voices of East Asian Modernity” (Pilzer) and “Googoosh’s Voice: An Iranian Icon in Silence and Song” (Hemmasi) are two essays in the first book-length study of women, modernity, and popular music in Asia. This collection, edited by Andrew Weintraub and Bart Barendregt, focuses on the “ways that women performs supported, challenged, and transgressed representations of existing gendered norms”. Congratulations to our faculty on their contributions! 

[chezvivian]

Sending @kwanlyndon off to #university @UofT #UofT #UofTMusic #StartUofT #Toronto #Canada #Victorian #architecture (at University of Toronto)

[chezvivian]

Victoria College is son's college at @UofT #UofT #UofTMusic #StartUofT #highered #Toronto #Canada #Victorian #architecture (at University, Toronto, Ontario)

[chezvivian]

Moving son @kwanlyndon to @UofT #UofT #UofTMusic #CNTower #StartUofT #Toronto #Canada Hard to believe CN Tower was one of the highest buildings in the world when I was a little girl! (at CN Tower)

[jamiedrake]

Getting ready to tackle the beast that is #Persephassa with @uoftperc. Concert on Monday at 7:30pm in Macmillan Theatre, Edward Johnson building - free! And you get to sit on the giant stage and be surrounded by this stuff. (Special guest appearance in this video by @jonnysmithpercussion, diligently working over our lunch break.) . . . #myofficetoday #percussion #xenakis #28minutesoffun #orsomething @uoftmusic (at University of Toronto Faculty of Music) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtY_boUAEVc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1narqku37hb06

[chezvivian]

My "Kwantet" in city of #Mozart #Beethoven #Strauss before @kwanlyndon is off with cello to @UofTMusic #Vienna #Austria #music #classicalmusic (at Vienna, Austria)

[jamiedrake]

Today: rehearsing Steve Reich's Four Organs with TorQ for the upcoming Soundstreams Ear Candy concert. • • • @soundstreams @torqpercussion @uoftmusic #earcandy #stevereich #fourorgans #invisiblecities #dinukwijeratne #mainstage #torqpercussion