laurier ma in community music opens its doors to students Lee Willingham heads one-of-a-kind program in Canada

pauline finch

r. Lee Willingham is spending his teaching sabbatical doing what the other half of the worlds population might compare to giving birth. His baby is the brand new Wilfrid Laurier University MA in Community Music being offered through the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community the first such program in Canada and one of a mere handful worldwide. Courses for the part-time degree begin in September, but prospective students need to apply by March 15 to secure one of the limited first-term spaces (see online links below). For Lee, who has directed LCMC since its founding in 2008, the addition of a graduate program is a natural outgrowth of the increased awareness the centre has generated so far. Since we started, LCMC has been building active partnerships with community music organizations, faith-based musicians and groups, music studios, retailers, and so on, he said. Weve also held workshops, town hall forums, and symposia on collaborative music-making under different themes such as choirs, bands, and music education. But until now, weve been missing the research component to support these activities; for that you need graduate school programs to generate methods, theory and real application in the community. While growing the baby through several years of research, brainstorming and collaboration has been rewarding, the labour hasnt been so easy. After more than three years spent designing criteria and options, Lee had to shepherd the concept through many layers of university and provincial approval, with a few bureaucratic setbacks along the way, before finally receiving the official green light in December 2012. There were times when I wondered how much longer it would take whether all the slogging was worth it, he admitted. But of course it was, and is; driven by a mission to make relevant further education accessible and affordable to people who both want and need to maintain their local community positions. Some ideal potential applicants might not even know who they

or sidelined by academia. As an emerging discipline in international music education, the movement originally sought to support underserviced sectors of the community. When a new social justice cause emerges, it usually resists institutionalisation, Lee explained. Community music is a lot like that; it works at a grass-roots level where the support is very much a product of local initiative. are, he emphasised; they may assume their background and experience are irrelevant, inadequate or incomplete. And they may be wrong There are so many people who refuse to define themselves as musicians when they actually are, he said, adding that common reasons include: Im not a professional, not good enough, I just play at it, Im not formally trained, Im too old to go back to school, and one of the biggies, I dont/cant read music. And there are also other artificially opposed genre polarities as he terms it: full-time versus part time, paid versus volunteer, classical versus popular, sacred versus secular, mainstream versus ethnic, etc. But if someone is passionate about their musical involvement, and especially if they have contributed to furthering music through leadership, there is little to hold them back. Based loosely on grass-roots community music movements in Britain and Europe, the Laurier program is actually reversing an anti-institutional trend by entering a field that is usually seen to be ignored He hopes the new Masters program will blend the best of both worlds, connecting the resources and structure of the university system with the flexibility and diversity of community-based interest. Were working intentionally to find definition among grey or indeterminate boundaries. We have to define our communities by our networks not by our isolation. In fact, its the networking part that can be the catalyst local arts leaders across the country have long craved. Canada abounds with strong individual virtual communities made up of people who regularly meet to pursue one activity whether choir, band, chamber ensemble, orchestra, learning group, church choir, ethnic music, folk club, and so on. They come together for that purpose, he said. Most dont spend time with each other outside the group music is their cohesion. Lee feels a new range of opportunity will open up when leaders in local music can do more networking, collaboration, and comparative experience-building and be given legitimate academic credit for it. And hes got both the quantitative and qualitative data to back the programs huge potential. Early research undertaken even before LCMC came into being (2006-2008) turned up some surprising results. In a survey of 1,000 people from all walks of life, 90 per cent were found to intentionally include music in their lives in some way on a regular basis and that more people program their music intake and participation than ever before. In real-world terms, nine out of 10 people on the bus, walking down the street, moving around in shopping malls, or working away in cubicles in your office building, all have real musical lives in some meaningful way, shape or form. That is, they make conscious and mindful choices about what they listen to personally (on everything from iPods, to home audio systems) and publicly (through live concerts, the workplace, etc.). They also make conscious choices about what to tune out. Despite the overwhelming amount of

music electronically available, Lee notes there is a lot less passivity than one might expect. And those who play or sing within an established group are often most proactive about how they choose to invest their available leisure time, effort and talent. This is where music and people intersect, he said. With its emphasis on diversity, selfdirected research, and interdisciplinary study (which can include cross-registration at other institutions) the Master of Arts in Community Music is built on a practical balance of theory and practice, especially geared to leadership skills. By the end of the six-term program (up to two courses can be taken each term), students have networked extensively with musicians in other fields, deepened their own capabilities, encountered other arts genres, and completed an applied community service placement that includes focused research on a musically relevant subject or theme. A major attraction for mature students is that entrance requirements are geared to recognise the value of assets like experience and initiative that arent always appreciated by more traditional academic institutions. While this is still a formal graduate degree with a solid research component, our vision is to remove barriers, he said. Were working intentionally to bring community and academy together, finding definition in an area that has huge potential, but few determined boundaries. And that, for him, means not producing an annual crop of virtuoso solo performers, each in his or her own professional bubble, but rather an energised contingent of community music leaders who have grown a mile wider and a mile deeper in their vocations. Now that the baby has come into the world, it will take community parenting in the form of eager and innovative students to raise it to maturity. Asked if hes ready for the influx of applicants, Lee assured everyone were here, its official and were open for business.

Anyone wishing to begin the program in September 2013 must submit an application by March 15. The application form, detailed program description and other information is available at www.wlu.ca/music/grad. Or contact Dr. Lee Willingham directly at lwillingham@wlu.ca

photo above: Lee Willingham, by Jerzy Kaplanek

The Music Times, Vol.VII, No. 2

March-April 2013