M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

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The Women’s Accordion Circle: A Retrospective By Meghan Forsyth

Newfoundlanders and trad music enthusiasts

will surely swap stories for generations to

come about the “Accordion Revolution” of

2005, when over 1000 people responded to

the “call-to-arms” to establish a new world

record for the largest accordion ensemble and

joined together to play “Mussels in the

Corner.” Indeed, those “mirrored eyes and

polished bone

buttons,” to borrow

Annie Proulx’s

description from

Accordion Crimes

(1996), has this

province firmly in

its…reeds. But, Kelly

Best notes, many

women “fiddlers” are

unacknowledged in

the province’s accordion history (2006). Yet,

if you drop by our MMaP Gallery on Monday

evenings, it is clear that the tradition is alive

and well.

The Women’s Accordion Circle (WAC) has

been meeting weekly in the MMaP Gallery (in

the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre) since

October 2007. The idea for the all-ages

gathering came from St. John’s native and

accordionist Kelly Best, while completing her

Master’s degree in ethnomusicology.

Her research focused on the Newfoundland

button accordion tradition and, specifically,

on the 2005 Beaches Accordion Festival held

in Eastport, Newfoundland. During her

research, she learned some interesting things

from the women she interviewed. “A lot of

women play but they keep their hobby to

themselves for the most part. Some reported

being shy and others talked about being in

some way shut out of playing either at parties

or other events. But the instrument and the

music means the world to them – they wished

they knew other

women who played…

some felt isolated. My

research taught me

that a lot of times

women aren’t

recognized as folk

music tradition

holders” (Best 2014). Continued on page 2.

MMaP NEWSLETTER

Summer 2014

In this issue:

The Women’s Accordion Circle ……………….. 1

Vocal Music Researcher at MUN………………. 3

‘Antifolking’ in Berlin ……………………………… 4

Pouch Cove – Our Home By The Sea .............. 5

Dancing Through Disease………………………... 6

MMaP Lecture Series 2014-2015 …………….. 7

Irish Music in Japan ……………………………….. 8

Film Week at MMaP ……………………………….. 11

St. John’s Many Voices: The Exhibit ………… 12

Ethno, Folklore, and Icebergs! ………………… 13

Congratulations and Thanks …………………… 15

About MMaP…………………………………………… 16

The Women’s Accordion Circle, 2014. Courtesy of Annette Howlett

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 2

WAC continued from page 1

While players like Minnie White and Belle

Fennelly are well known in our province’s

traditional music scene, Best suspected that

there were many other Newfoundland

women “in love with this

instrument that most of the world

loves to hate” (Best 2014). Thus,

the idea for a group dedicated to

women accordionists was born.

“So I thought about the most

inclusive way to bring women

together in a safe and supportive

environment. I kept it to women only because

I thought we deserved our own special place.

I wanted to give us all an opportunity to share

our love for music and the instrument, … to

practice being a performer, to get more

comfortable with the idea that we are

musicians with passion and talent, and to

have fun!” (Best 2014).

Best thought about giving lessons and

considered leading a performance group, but

this was complicated by the fact that

accordions come in all keys and players at all

levels. In the end, she decided on the model of

a storytelling circle where players take turns,

tell stories relating to tunes, play or pass as

they want to, ask questions, and get to know

each other. Some posters, emails, and, later,

CBC and VOCM radio stations, helped raise

awareness. As Debbie Dunne wrote in a

recent email, “whether you are an absolute

beginner or a seasoned player, the WAC

welcomes you and you can quickly find your

comfort level” (Dunne 2014). For many

members, the Circle has provided a space and

motivation for them to return to the

instrument (and music in general) after many

years of raising families, working, and other

commitments. In the years since the group

began, the membership and practice of the

Circle has shifted and developed its own

sense of self” (Best 2014). They have added

some “community times,” including outings to

Bowring Park and pub nights. But the Circle

has maintained Best’s vision of the

group as a place where women

could gather and share music

together (Dunne 2014). The

idea continues to resonate with

women accordionists in St.

John’s and will, I am sure, for many

more years to come. Continued on p. 7

Many Newfoundland women “in love with an instrument most of the

world loves to hate”

“The Circle” by Harryetta Collett

The Circle it goes round and round With stories, music and song It has become a familiar place To which we all belong Kelly has brought us together And she cannot be beat Cause accordions were made to play Except one which was made to eat The stories are told with passion Of accordions neglected for years Of music in our families And of overcoming our fears. The music is so vivid It takes me at my will To see the Star of Logy Bay Or the Cross On Spancil Hill The songs they come from near and far But we’ve got them all down pat They range from very serious To “Doggie Bark at the Cat” And thanks to all that jammin’ We’ve all become good friends The circle it goes round and round And I hope it never ends.

Dust off your accordions and join the circle! The WAC will meet weekly starting Monday,

September 8th, 7pm-9pm in the MMaP Gallery, 2nd floor, Arts and Culture Centre.

We hope to see you there!

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

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Vocal Music Researcher Returns to MUN, Wants Everyone To Sing With Him By Chris Tonelli

Editor’s note: We’re excited that Dr. Chris Tonelli

is returning to St. John’s in October 2014!

Hello (again) MMaP community! For those of

you who don't know me, my name is Dr. Chris

Tonelli. I was Visiting Assistant Professor of

Ethnomusicology and Popular Music Studies at

MUN's School of Music (2011-13) before taking

up a postdoctoral fellowship at the University

of Guelph with the Improvisation Community

and Social Practice (ICASP) project, a project

that takes an interdisciplinary approach in

asking the question: how can musical

improvisation serve as a crucial model for

political, cultural, and ethical dialogue and

action? In 2014, ICASP is becoming, in a sense,

born again as IICSI, the International Institute

for Critical Studies in Improvisation. MMaP and

MUN are partners with the new IICSI

organization, which is allowing me to continue

this work in St. John’s. My office will be housed

at MMaP, where I'll be furiously analyzing the

multi-sited ethnographic data I collected

working as participant-observer and

interviewer in free improvising music

communities in Chicago, New York, Los

Angeles, San Francisco, Montreal, Ottawa, and

Toronto. I am an improvising soundsinger and

have been singing and speaking with other

improvising soundsingers intensively

throughout 2013-2014.

Free voice singing, improvised extranormal

singing, soundsinging—whatever you call it—

is a highly under-documented and

misunderstood practice, one that allows us to

question and challenge dominant

epistemologies about what it means to be

human, to perform gender, and to participate

intersubjectively in the dynamisms of Other

bodies. When the human body enters

established contexts for the performance of art

or popular music and proceeds to make sounds

that audiences might associate with machines,

animals, or the forces of nature, audiences

often have powerful positive or negative

reactions and frequently engage in responsive

actions that range from attempts to police the

vocality of the performer to powerful urges to

engage in the kinds of vocal play that the

performer is modelling and that a variety of

social institutions work to proscribe or

discourage. And so, my work is theoretical,

ethnographic, historical (I'm writing a book on

the history of the practice that begins in the

1950s with the crirhythmes of François

Dufrêne and traces the practice to its present

forms), and practice-based—one of the things

I've been doing in Guelph is organizing

opportunities for group vocal improvisation.

Starting in October, I'll be organizing one

monthly gathering devoted to group

exploration of free vocal improvisation and a

second monthly gathering devoted to

exploration of structured and conducted choral

improvisation. Anyone interested in

participating is welcome; no previous vocal

experience is necessary; and there will be no

cost to participate. For more information you

can contact me at ctonelli@live.ca, check out

the Facebook page for the St. John's Vocal

Exploration Gatherings. To get a sense of what

will be happening in St. John's in 2014-2015,

you can check out here what the Guelph Vocal

Exploration Gathering group did in 2013-2014.

Better yet, drop by my office at MMaP to chat

with me about vocal traditions, improvisation,

imitation, pastiche, chiptune, transnational

flows of popular music, mail art scores, sea

urchin, karaoke, or anything else on your mind!

See you all soon.

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

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From the Field:

‘Antifolking’ in Berlin By Mathias Kom (PhD Candidate)

My doctoral research centers on the small but

vibrant ‘antifolk’ scene in Berlin, inspired by

and modeled on the more established scene in

New York, where the loosely defined genre (a

kind of acoustic folk with a punk attitude)

began. When I started my research, I was

mostly interested in the ways that New York

and Berlin-based musicians collaborated and

networked with one another in order to keep

their scenes alive,

successfully maintaining a

transnational community

of musicians almost

completely outside the

mainstream. Since

immersing myself in this

world, however, I’ve been

drawn to studying the

complex political economy

of antifolk, and where I

first saw only cooperation

and scene-building, I now recognize a far more

fragmented picture that includes as much

tension, disagreement, and collapse as it

presents an alternative model of DIY success.

I’ve been embedded in these two scenes as a

musician myself for several years. This means

that my research participants, in some cases,

are also my artistic collaborators, my tour-

mates, my close friends, and even my own

booking agent. I’ve been drawn deeper into

this world through unique opportunities to be

part of festivals, open mic nights, and concert

series – working not just as a musician or

ethnographer but also as a promoter, host, or

DJ. At a few points during the year, I’ve also

gone on tours with antifolk musicians, and I’ve

been chronicling my experiences in

combination with a series of interviews with

musicians, promoters, and fans.

This deep involvement has obvious

advantages, but also presents unique

challenges. How do I remain sensitive to the

tight-knit, friendship-based nature of these

scenes without compromising my writing?

How do I separate my own musical career from

my research – is that even possible? And

critically, how do I know when enough is

enough? As the project continues, it seems like

an endless onion, with always another layer

underneath, another direction waiting to be

explored. Setting

boundaries and limiting

my scope has been a

struggle at times, but on

the other hand I’ve gained

so much from such in-

depth involvement, and I

find that this music and

the people who make it

continue to fascinate me

and help me grow as both

a musician and a scholar.

“Five things I can’t live without”:

1. My research participants, who are always ready and willing to help.

2. My partner and band mate Ariel Sharratt, who has provided me with so much inspiration for new directions in this research.

3. My German friends, well-versed in the intricacies of both their language and their country’s mystifying bureaucracy, who seem to have endless patience with my confusion over article declension or how to renew my freelance artist’s visa.

4. My balcony garden: I’ve discovered that despite my long history of plant homicide, I might actually have a green thumb.

5. My guitar: a constant reminder that if I fail completely at finishing this dissertation, I can always dedicate my life to busking in the Berlin subway system.

(Courtesy of Mathias Kom)

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 5

Pouch Cove – Our Home by the Sea By Po Chun Lau

Pouch Cove – Our Home by the Sea is a newly

published book by the Pouch Cove Heritage

Committee. The book was developed and

designed by six members of the heritage

group, who assembled material for a 186-

page, richly illustrated history of the

communities of Pouch Cove, Shoe Cove, and

Biscayan Cove, from the time of their

founding up to the present. More than 50

people contributed photographs, stories and

documents for inclusion in the book. With

230 illustrations and a comfortable spiral

binding, the book is being hailed by readers

as a major accomplishment and a milestone

for the community.

Pouch Cove – Our Home by the Sea has

sections about early settlement, fishing,

sealing, local merchants, losses and tragedies,

local agriculture, veterans, women’s lives,

local groups and associations, the Pouch Cove

Public Library, schools, churches and church

groups, the Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire

Department, sports and recreation, holidays

and celebrations, health, and healing. In

addition, the Cape St. Francis Lighthouse,

Shoe Cove satellite tracking stations, East

Coast Trail, and Marine Drive Park are

highlighted. Collected stories and poems, as

well as a section of 22 pages of photographs

of local families complete the

collection. Introductory sections written by

Pouch Cove Mayor Joedy Wall, MHA Kevin

Parsons, and Dr. Edgar Williams set the tone

for the rich collection of information in the

book.

As Kevin Parsons observes in his Preface,

“This book does a wonderful job of

highlighting the resilience, kindness and rich

history of Pouch Cove and its residents. It is

so important that the stories of our rural

communities continue to be told, so that our

children can know and understand how their

parents and grandparents lived, how they

persevered as a community through the hard

times and how they also enjoyed the good

times together.”

Copies of the book are available at local

outlets and can be ordered online from

www.pouchcoveheritage.org

Thank you to Dr. Diane Tye for

her service on MMaP’s Executive

Board.

…and we’d like to extend a big

welcome to Dr. Cory Thorne as

the Executive’s newest member!

Book cover photo courtesy of the Pouch Cove Heritage Committee

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 6

‘Dancing Through Disease’:

Ethnomusicologist Louise Meintjes By Beverley Diamond

Dr. Louise Meintjes (Duke University) visited

Memorial University during one of the coldest

weeks of the winter of 2014 but she radiated

warmth and generosity in every class and

lecture she gave. Her public lecture on March

4, “Dancing around Disease: Zulu ngoma in a

time of AIDS” demonstrated the depth of her

lifelong fieldwork and friendships in South

Africa as well as the power of evocative

performance ethnography. The ngoma dance

is a physically demanding genre with both

“sweetness” and “power,” as she has

described in an article in Ethnomusicology

Forum (2004, 13/2:174): . . . the dancer's right knee bends, his back arches, his head tilts back. He extends his right arm over his head as his left leg stretches back to prepare for the pick-up to the beat. The forward thrust of his left arm balances his taut and arching body. Then, as if a spring suddenly triggered, he kicks his left leg into the sky, curls his torso and shoots his right arm forward to balance his one-legged stance. His skyward foot thunders down onto the ground on the beat, gqi! Dust flies. He throws away the movement with his hands, in the recoil of his torso, with a flick of his head, and he saunters off.

In her lecture at MUN she addressed the way

in which the dance negotiates masculinity in

the context of HIV/AIDS. She explained that

the brotherhood of Zulu men who dance

ngoma are at the epicentre of the HIV/AIDS

crisis. While the denial of AIDS during the

Mbeki regime (1999-2007) gave way to large-

scale anti-retroviral programs since 2007,

there is still social stigma associated with the

disease. Hospitals may be a secondary

recourse for some. The dance enables the

men not only to show how they care about

those afflicted with the disease in a way they

deem appropriately masculine but also to

negotiate the stigma and resulting politics of

silence associated with the illness. She

described how one dancer who could no

longer dance asserted authority in his voice.

Another shed tears as he announced to his

fellow dancers that he wouldn’t dance any

longer; his brothers responded by singing in a

“sweet voice” and their captain made space

for them to regain control. A third attempted

to dance proudly to assert that “his TB was

cured” but his fellow dancers took care of him

by holding him back, saying in effect “we

know that it’s not TB.” She explained that

each transgressive action indicated that

something important was at stake. The

politics of ambiguity, however, allowed “a

pretence, a phantom normalcy” that allowed

men afflicted with AIDS to retain their

respectability. In the style of evocative

writing for which she is highly esteemed,

Meintjes moved seamlessly between

multisensory ethnographic description and

interpretation as she demonstrated how

ngoma enables the unspeakable to surface

among Zulu men in post-Apartheid South

Africa.

Zulu ngoma dancers (Courtesy of Louise Meintjes)

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 7

“Accordion Circle” by Vicki Larkin

Vicki Larkin joined the Women’s Accordion

Circle in December of 2007. She wrote her

poem “Accordion Circle” after her first session.

I joined the accordion circle last Monday night

When I first walked in I was a little uptight;

But I was welcomed at the door by Kelly Best

And was glad to see there would be no test;

The circle was arranged according to key

So I sat on a chair surrounded by ‘C’s;

After introducing ourselves to one and all

Kelly said tell a story or play a song, it was our call;

One by one we played a song,

With nineteen around the circle, it didn’t take long;

Some of us were just starting and some played

for years,

All the accordion music was very pleasant to hear;

From jigs and reels to songs that were slow,

I was delighted that I decided to go;

Around the circle we played three times

And before we knew it, it was half past nine;

Then there was a jam session for the ‘A’s and ‘D’s

But next week it will be for ‘C’s and ‘G’s;

Kelly invited everyone to stay

And listen to the music about to be played;

This ladies accordion group is second to none,

It was so relaxing and a barrel of fun!

Continued on page 10

2014-2015 MMaP lecture series:

Wednesday, October 1 (4 p.m.) Dr. Kiri Miller (Brown)

“Dance Games and Body Work”

Thursday, October 16 (7 p.m.) Dr. Kip Pegley (Queen’s)

“The Work of Music at the Canadian War Museum” Auditorium, Bruneau Centre

Wednesday, November 26 (7:30 p.m.) Dr. Ingrid Monson (Harvard)

“From Freedom Sounds to Senufo Sounds: Social Vision and Improvisation in a Global World”

Tuesday, February 10 (7:30 p.m.) Dr. Aaron McKim (Eastern Health)

Dr. Jane Gosine (Music, MUN) Dr. Fern Brunger (Health Care Ethics, MUN) “Tuned In: Intercultural and Interdisciplinary

Roundtable on Health”

Tuesday, March 3 (7:30 p.m.) Dr. Gavin Douglas (North Carolina at

Greensboro) “The Sound of Political Change in Myanmar”

Unless indicated otherwise, all events take place in the MMaP Gallery, 2nd floor, Arts and Culture Centre Events are open to the public and free of charge.

Congratulations to Dr. Neil

Rosenberg (Professor Emeritus

of Folklore and member of

MMaP’s Executive Board) who

will be inducted into the

International Bluegrass Hall

of Fame in Raleigh, NC, in

October 2014!!

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 8

From the Field: Crowds, Irish Music and Food: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Tokyo By Toshio Tatsu Oki (MA Candidate) I was sitting around a table in a stylish café in

the young, hip, Kichijoji area of Tokyo, an area

of small boutiques, whole foods and bars with

no seats. The café was adorned with paintings,

stencils and artworks from one of the guest

musicians who sang with the instrumentalists

later in the evening. An upright piano was

sitting in the corner of the room, and the

musicians were sitting around a rectangular

table, laden with freshly catered food and a few

bottles of specially sourced Guinness. The faces

around the table were

full of smiles and

laughs, and the tunes

were intense and full

of fervour. I looked

around. The audience

filled the café, clapping

to the beat.

My trip to Tokyo was

incredibly rewarding,

both from an academic

and personal

standpoint. My

research examines

hybrid musical

processes with a focus

on the phenomenon of Irish music in Japan. I

was not only able to connect with young

performers, who found venues all over the city,

from cafés and art galleries to Buddhist

temples and Shinto shrines, but also delve into

the history of Irish music in Tokyo. I was even

able to get my hands on the tape of the first

recording of traditional and folk music in the

city in 1979, and the newsletters from the first

traditional music appreciation society in the

city.

Personally, I was able to connect with Tokyo on

a more intimate level. Until this trip, I had been

rather wary of that megalopolis. Too many

people, too many cars, too many train lines and

just too much in general. This time around, I

was able to experience the ebb and flow of the

city and its non-stop rhythm. There was always

something to do, something to experience or

someone to talk to. I was able to experience the

changing seasons in the city, the various

cultural practices (festivals, temples, shrines,

and cherry blossom viewing) and the variety of

cuisines on offer throughout.

In short, I love Tokyo now. I

love the trains. I love how

you can go everywhere

(literally everywhere,

sometimes through 5

different routes!). I love the

crowds. I love the crowded

trains.

Continued on page 9

Photos courtesy of Toshio Tatsu Oki

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 9

Irish Music continued from page 8

I love the little boroughs, all of which have

unique characteristics (you go one train stop

over and it's a completely different

neighbourhood!). I love the food. I love the

music and how the friends I've made are

playing it all over the place. If you're ever in

Tokyo, chances are there will be Irish music

with a Japanese twist being played somewhere

in the city. Ask around!

Toshio’s “Top 5 Eats in Toyko”:

1. Paitan Ramen (noodles) in Ginza. Apparently this is a famous place in the Ginza area of Tokyo. I understand why. We waited for 40 minutes. It was completely worth it.

2. Unagi in Tokyo. Grilled eel. Amazing. The thing about unagi in Tokyo is that they steam the fish before grilling it, making it as fluffy as a pillow.

3. Jumbo Gyoza (dumplings). Cheap, gigantic and four for $3! A great student hangout in the Ueno area of Tokyo.

4. Ten Don in Kamakura. A bit of a detour from Tokyo, but the city is beautiful and this tempura bowl was huge, freshly prepared and delicious.

5. Any chain Teishoku place. Teishoku means “standard meal,” but there is nothing standard about them. You get seafood bowls, fresh grilled fish or deep-fried goodness for cheap, plus you don’t feel awkward when dining alone! Another plus: $5 lunches!

Now Available from

MMaP’s Back on Track

Series:

Soufflets & Archets is the French-language edition

of Bellows & Bows (released in 2012). This book and

double CD set is the most comprehensive audio

survey of music for fiddle and accordion from every

province and territory in Canada.

The 2 CDs showcase rare archival and out-of-print

tracks, including the first-known recording of “Red

River Jig” and early radio and TV broadcasts, and 65

tunes played in diverse Canadian styles: Scottish,

French, Irish, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Ukrainian,

Norwegian, and Polish.

The 160-page book features rich biographical

notes, photos, maps and tune analysis, as well as a

social history of fiddle and accordion in Canada.

For more information and audio excerpts:

http://www.mun.ca/mmap/back_on_track/b_and_b

Courtesy of Toshio Tatsu Oki

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 10

WAC continued from page 7

In the spring of 2014, Debbie Dunne asked past and present WAC members to submit “sharings” of

their WAC experiences. Here are a few selections from that exchange:

References:

Best, Kelly. Email to Women’s Accordion Circle group, 20 April 2014. _____. “A performance ethnography of the 2005 Beaches Accordion Festival, Eastport, Newfoundland.” MA

thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2006. Proulx, E. Annie. Accordion Crimes. Simon & Schuster, 1996.

I am 82 years old – never thought at that age I would be with a band “Sweet Forget me Nots” playing and singing at seniors’ retirement homes, concerts, festivals and to welcome passengers off visiting cruise ships. I always loved music. When I was 15 years old I bought a guitar and an old second-hand fiddle. The fiddle cost me $10. I played a few chords, which I had learned on the guitar in our school band led by Cmdr. Garrett at Prince of Wales College in 1948. One of our school teachers, Mr. Thomas Sargent, was kind enough to lend me his banjo when he saw how interested I was in the sound of it. You can imagine how proud I was that day walking home from school carrying this large instrument. I was also a big fan of Ralph Bishop and Don Randell’s radio program, which was broadcast by CBC at the Newfoundland Hotel. School finished and I went into nursing. Music was forgotten for many years with working and raising a family.

In 1962 I took up music again and bought a five-string banjo, which I used to take part in a TV minstrel show for CBC. Over the years I have enjoyed many hours of singing and playing music with wonderful friends Reg Whitten and Frank Thorne of the Blue Grass Mountaineers. In 2007 I saw an ad from Kelly Best requesting any women who would like to get together to play accordion to come to MMaP on Monday evenings. I thought that might be nice, so I gathered up an old accordion that lived in my house but I had never tried to play it. I am so delighted that I made that decision because I met such a wonderful group of new people with the same musical desire that I had. I have learned to play the accordion and very much enjoy our get togethers and the friendships which we have acquired.

3 years ago, some of my accordion friends showed an interest in learning to play the fiddle, so out came from the dust my 1947 fiddle and off we went to the fiddle association and also a few lessons from Christina Smith. We now have a little group called “The Rare Birds” and I must admit we are still quite rare but trying hard. A whole new world of music has opened up for me and I hope to be around for many more years to enjoy the company of my good friends, many of whom I have met at the Women’s Accordion Circle. ~ By Doreen Reardigan

..............................................................

Over 3 years ago I mentioned to Lillian at one of the Mews traditional dances that I had an accordion sitting in my closet and she encouraged me to come to the accordion group. I think we were about to go away for a few months at that time and it didn't enter my mind again until Harryetta also mentioned it to me several months later. This time I decided to give it a try, even though I would only be able to fit in a couple of sessions since we were heading South again for the winter.

My first session was January 23, 2012. It was such a pleasure to be amongst very friendly, encouraging ladies that I did indeed go back. I think it was the idea of no pressure and that there were beginners like me who could learn from the "pros" at our own pace. Since that time, I have enjoyed every session and would love to attend them all but again our travels get in the way and each year I start off just as rusty. However, I will press on...

The other reason I attend these sessions is because I grew up with a Mother who played the accordion every chance she got and she was great. I didn't show any interest in learning how to play during my childhood but I sure loved to dance to her jigs. Today, she has been dead for almost two years and I hope to keep her type of music in the family but I really have to discipline myself to practice more. I struggle with it and will never be as good as she was but each time I hold that accordion in my arms, I feel like I am holding my Mother. ~ By Ann Windsor

..............................................................

The day that I answered Kelly Best’s call for women to meet at the Arts and Culture Centre and start the Circle became a life-changing experience for me. Not only did it enhance my accordion playing but also gave me a place to heal from life experiences and I continued healing by getting involved with new friends. Practicing times together were always joyful and entertaining, which gave me courage and help restore my self-esteem. ~ By Marina Hoskins

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 11

Film Week with Barbara Evans By Meghan Forsyth

A number of MMaP

staff and research

affiliates have been

involved in

filmmaking projects

since 2007, when,

after taking the radio

or video

documentary-

making courses

offered in the

Ethnomusicology graduate programs, they began

creating documentaries on topics as diverse as

Arsi Oromo women in Ethiopia, the RPM

Challenge, Newfoundland accordion and step

dance traditions, and more! Thus, we dedicated

one week in February of 2014 to this shared

interest. We were honoured to welcome Dr.

Barbara Evans, an award-winning filmmaker and

York University (Toronto) professor, as a visiting

scholar at MMaP. And what a week it was!

Evans is a director, producer, writer, researcher,

and editor of film and television in Britain and

Canada. A graduate of Britain’s National Film and

Television School, she has worked in educational

television, the BBC, ITV, and on films sponsored by

the British Film Institute. In Canada, Evans was an

editor for the National Film Board on such films as

Wonderland and Bitter Medicine, and on

independent feature films Latitude 55 and Walls,

among others. Her current research is on the work

of early women filmmakers in the British

documentary film movement.

Evans’ public lecture, entitled “Documenting the

Present/Visualizing the Past: The Voices of

Documentary Film,” drew on her own work and

a rich array of other films to examine various

strategies for filming contemporary documentary

subjects. She discussed similarities and

differences between documentary and

ethnographic filmmaking, and then analyzed

various models, including “expository”

documentaries in the lineage of the classic Nanook

of the North (1922); “observational” film (a.k.a.

“direct cinema”), such as Allan King’s Warrendale

(1967); “cinema vérité,” such as John Rusch’s

Chronique d’un été (1961); “personal essay film,”

such as Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil (1983); and

“visual ethnography film,” such as those by the

Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University.

Dr. Evans’ examples were captivating and brought

to life the chronological, but genre-differentiated,

history of documentary filmmaking.

Another highlight of film week was a

videoconference that brought together four

scholars and filmmakers who use film as a

medium of publication and a form of political

activism. Zoe Sherinian (University of Oklahoma)

discussed her film This is a Music: Reclaiming an

Untouchable Drum (2011), which focuses on the

changing status of Christian Dalit drummers.

Michael Frishkopf (University of Alberta) spoke

about his involvement in producing collaborative

documentary films, such as the youtube-

disseminated film “Songs of the New Arab

Revolutions,” which draws on a Facebook archive

of over 100 videos from the “Arab Spring” as well

as similar videos available on the web. He also

spoke about his participatory action research for

development in West Africa. Clara Henderson

joined us virtually from Indiana University, where

she is the Associate Director of the EVIA digital

archive project, a collaborative digital archive of

ethnographic field videos for use by scholars and

instructors. Last but not least, local Newfoundland

writer and radio host Marjorie Doyle was filmed

in advance speaking about a documentary film

that she co-produced with her brother, John.

Regarding Our Father tells the story of their father,

Gerald S. Doyle—a businessman, folksong

collector, and founder of The Doyle Bulletin—using

the 16mm colour footage Doyle shot as he

Courtesy of Barbara Evans

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 12

Film Week continued from page 11

traveled around the province in the mid-20th

century.

MMaP sponsored Dr. Evans’ short-term residency

and the videoconference with support from the

Capacity Building Fund established in 2014 by the

Office of the Vice-President (Research).

Check out audio and film documentaries produced

by MMaP graduate students and research

affiliates!

St. John’s Many Voices: The Exhibit By Beverley Diamond and Meghan Forsyth

On June 19, 2014, MMaP hosted a meeting of

public sector and university partners to discuss

the development of a potential exhibit on cultural

diversity in St. John’s. Among the attendees were

museum curators, archivists, immigration support

personelle, Aboriginal representation, leaders in

specific religious and ethnocultural communities,

representatives from relevant government

departments, tourism specialists, exhibit

designers, representatives from MUN’s

International Student Office, the Harris Centre,

and the Office of Public Engagement, as well as

scholars interested in a wide range of cultural

diversity issues. Our interest in exploring the

possibility of such an exhibit grew out of a

research project entitled St. John’s Many Voices

that was undertaken between 2009 and 2012. A

team of graduate student researchers conducted

extensive archival research and interviewed over

90 individuals from many of the immigrant

communities in St. John’s. Public exhibits, we

believe, would enable this rich material to be

made available in formats that would reach a wide

audience.

Dr. Beverley Diamond opened the meeting by

describing the St. John’s Many Voices research and

the main themes that emerged in the study,

including the way the port city of St. John’s has

functioned as a contact zone, the re-storying of the

landscape by culturally diverse citizens, and the

creation of unique alliances in the St. John’s region

in particular.

The topic of cultural diversity sparked lively

discussion and participants contributed many

exciting ideas for potential exhibits and associated

programming. We hope to be able to share plans

for future exhibits over the coming year.

(top) Participants in a breakout session. (bottom) Beverley

Diamond welcomes the group to MMaP. Photos by Hadi Milanloo.

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 13

MMaP Hosts Symposium on Music, Folklore and the Public Sector By Meghan Forsyth

On May 15th, 2014, MMaP hosted a group of

internationally renowned scholars, local

experts and entrepreneurs for a lively

exchange on issues related to local culture,

politics, and social well-being. The

symposium focused on ways that scholars are

pushing intellectual boundaries and forming

alliances across disciplines as well as between

university and public sector institutions, in

order to address urgent social issues. How did

we manage to get such a distinguished group

of academic visitors to St. John’s for a half-day

symposium? The event was organized to be

adjacent to the meeting of the Executive

Board of the Society for Ethnomusicology

(SEM) in St. John’s, hosted by MMaP Director

and current SEM President Beverley

Diamond.

The afternoon began with diverse

presentations by ethnomusicologists.

Following an introductory history of

ethnomusicology’s social engagement in the

mid-20th century by Stephen Stuempfle

(Executive Director of SEM and Associate

Professor of Ethnomusicology at Indiana

University), Anne Rasmussen, a professor in

the Department of Music, College of William

and Mary (Virginia) explored music industry

networks in the Middle East and theorized

musical labour as it occurs in the service of

festivals and festivities. Her presentation

drew particular attention to her current work

in Oman. Tina K. Ramnarine, a professor at

Royal Holloway, University of London (UK),

examined issues of musical representation in

the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Royal

Botanical Gardens at Kew Gardens in London.

Her research uses this site as a way of

thinking about cultural mapping, and musical

diversity in relation to botanical cultivation

under imperial regimes.

The afternoon continued with two lively

roundtable discussions. First, “Music and

Politics: Navigating Between Institutions,

Social Agendas and Cultural Practices”

examined how ethnomusicologists are finding

innovative ways to address issues of power

and politics through their scholarship and

media production activities. Harris Berger

(Texas A&M University) kicked off the panel

by outlining five political challenges for the

academic study of music; these ranged from

questioning whether our “populism” needs to

be formulated as “anti-elitism” to elucidating

how musical performance practices relate to

social relationships in other spheres. Through

a close reading of photographs dating from

the 1920s, Margaret Sarkissian (Smith

College, Massachusetts) took up Berger’s

challenges when she discussed her recent

research in the Straits-born Chinese

communities of Malacca, Malaysia, where she

is using archival photographs to initiate

reflection among her informants and as a tool

to piece together a history of the complex and

shifting hybridity of the community. Finally,

Zoe Sherinian (University of Oklahoma)

talked about her work as an ethnographic

filmmaker to validate a once-denigrated

musical tradition of Christian Dalit (also

known as untouchables or outcasts) in

southern India.

We were thrilled that three local scholars,

activists and entrepreneurs participated in

the final roundtable of the symposium, which

explored public engagement initiatives in

Newfoundland and Labrador. A presentation

by Jillian Gould (Assistant Professor in

Folklore, MUN) focused on the development

of Memorial University’s public folklore

program. She gave an overview of some of the

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

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Synposium continued from page 13

exciting projects that she and her students

have developed, such as traditional dance and

Jewish rugelach (a Jewish pastry) workshops,

and discussed some of the challenges they

have faced when engaging with local

communities. Dale Jarvis (Development

Officer, Intangible Cultural Heritage NL)

provided a history and overview of various

cultural development initiatives in the

province, including the 2006 “Creative NL”

document which served as a blueprint for the

province’s investment and development in

local culture, the Intangible Cultural Heritage

program, and the community-based projects

that the ICH office has undertaken since it

was established in 2008. Last but not least,

Zainab Jerrett (Executive Director, Tombolo

Multicultural Festival Newfoundland and

Labrador Inc.) talked about her work in

promoting multiculturalism and cultural

diversity in St. John’s and “up the shore” in

Ferryland with the annual Tombolo festivals.

In addition to their stimulating presentations

at the symposium (and behind-the-scenes

hard work on SEM Board business), our

international guests found time to take in

some of the sights and sounds of St. John’s

and the surrounding area, including lunch at

The Rooms, a visit to the Ocean Sciences

Centre in Logy Bay in time to observe the

seals at feeding time, and iceberg-spotting in

Torbay!

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 15

Congratulations!

In June 2014, Mary Piercey-Lewis successfully

defended her Ph.D. dissertation, entitled

“Inulariuyunga: Imngirnik Quvigiyaqaqtunga!"

I'm a Real Inuk; I Love to Sing! Interactions

Between Music, Inummariit and Belief in an

Inuit Community Since Resettlement.” Her

research explored how the Inuit of Arviat,

Nunavut, use their musical practices to

negotiate social diversity wtihin the community

in response to massive sociocultural changes

since the 1950s. Dr. Piercey-Lewis teaches

music at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit.

In May 2014, three ethnomusicology students

received their Master’s degrees:

Amanda Ironside’s research focused on the life

and career of Cape Breton fiddler Sandy

MacIntyre, and community he fostered through

a weekly musical performance in Toronto. She

currently teaches high school music in Toronto.

Melody McKiver travels extensively as a

freelance researcher and performer from her

home base in Ottawa. Recent projects include

self-directed research in Northwestern Ontario,

touring the UK with trip-hop singer Iskwé,

recording with Colombian electronic musician

Lido Pimienta, and writing film scores. Melody

is active in Ottawa’s media arts community and

plans to release an album for solo viola in 2015.

Krista Vincent’s Master s thesis looked at

issues of reception and meaning-making in

contemporary classical music. A respected

pianist and musical director, Krista was recently

appointed General Manager of the Tuckamore

Chamber Music Festival.

Thank you!

In August 2014, MMaP teamed up with the

Association for Newfoundland and Labrador

Archives (ANLA) to host a tent at the

Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, held

in Bowring Park in St. John’s. Thank you to

“Airs Apast” volunteers: Beverley Diamond,

Meghan Forsyth, Hadi Milanloo, Saeede Niktab,

Michelle Porter, and Leila Qashu, along with our

ANLA colleagues. These volunteers helped us

run a “Name That Tune” challenge, a song lyric

scavenger hunt, and a mobile listening station.

Photo by Meghan Forsyth

M M a P N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

Page 16

Get the latest MMaP news:

MMaP is:

http://www.mun.ca/mmap

Director: Beverley Diamond

bdiamond@mun.ca, 709.864.3701

Office Administrator: Maureen Houston

mhouston@mun.ca, 709.864.2058

Digital Audio Studio Coordinator: Spencer Crewe

spencerc@mun.ca, 709.864.2057

Project Coordinator, Newsletter Editor: Meghan Forsyth

mforsyth@mun.ca, 709.864.2051

Executive Board: Anita Best, Rob Power, Martin Lovelace, Andrea Rose, Neil Rosenberg,

Christina Smith, Cory Thorne, Ellen Waterman, Kati Szego

Community Advisory Board: Joan Andersen, Tim Borlase, Jerry Evans, Anna Kearney Guigné,

Jean Hewson, June Hiscock, Doreen Klassen, Daniel Payne, Jim Payne, Stan Pickett, Eric West