Welcome to the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community

Connect * Collaborate * Contribute

Please click here for a brochure about LcMc.

Please click here for an article about the opening of LcMc.

Contact Dr. Lee Willingham at lwillingham@wlu.ca for more information about LcMc.

Announcing:

vFEST 

Established by Earl McCluskie of Chestnut Hall Music, the Virtual Performing Arts Festival (vFEST) is a celebration of the rich music culture in the region of Waterloo. It brings together under one “virtual roof” recorded music performances primarily from the 2011 regular concert season of music ensembles in the performing arts community from the Waterloo region. A “traditional” music festival involves ensembles performing at “brick and mortar” facilities. The vFEST"facility" is an on-line festival experience and through it you can stream on-demand concerts throughout the festival period. Please click here to visit the vFEST site.

MA, Community Music Proposed

The Master of Arts in Community Music OCGS Brief has been provisionally approved by the Faculty of Music Divisional Council (April 8, 2011), and is proceeding through the approval committees. It is slated to be launched as a part-time study in the near future. Graduate research in community music will be disseminated through this website.

Choral Conductors' Symposium
A full day choral workshop for conductors, church musicians and choristers. For more information visit www.musicpluscorp.com. Features Dr. Julia Davids and the Canadian Chamber Choir.
Saturday, January 21, 2012

Requiem, Fauré
Laurier Singers and Ian Sadler, Organ
First United Church, 16 William Street, Waterloo
Saturday, January 28, 2012

Mimi Zweig, visiting artist/educator
Sponsored by the Laurier String Academy and LcMc, Ms. Zweig will work with string teachers and students in a two day workshop, open to all, free of charge.
February 13-14. CLICK HERE for more details.

*Established in 2008, the Laurier String Academy is a community violin school instructing students from ages 5-18 in private and group lessons. The academy is based on the pedagogy of the legendary Mimi Zweig of University of Indiana and provides a lab setting for Laurier string pedagogy students to experience studio and group lesson instruction under the supervision of master teachers.
The program administered (teaching personnel, recitals, teaching studios, group lesson venues, marketing, publicity) through LcMc. Recitals have taken place in the Aird Centre, WLU Seminary Chapel, Kitchener City Hall. For more details, click here or contact professor Jerzy Kaplanek, jkaplanek@wlu.ca.

Music Care Conferences
*June 3-4, 2012, Fredericton, New Brunswick, featuring Rayline Rankin, Amy Clements-Cortez, Lee Willingham
*November 10, 2012, University of Toronto and Royal Conservatory of Music (program under development)

LcMc in partnership with Room 217 brings together community members in pursuing the issues and themes around caring for people with music. The conference identifies and integrates common themes and issues using music across the care spectrum and highlights the social implications of music in care. Participants experience music in a way that contributes to body-mind-spirit care.
Music touches every part of us: our bodies, emotions, minds, relationships and souls. Music can make a difference in our quality of life and well-being.
Music Care conferences are planned for nurses, PSWs, recreational therapists, music therapists, musicians, educators, parish nurses, funeral care provides, students, family and volunteer caregivers, music lovers.
Workshops include: music care in grief, music therapy and individuals with strokes and acquired brain injury, musical improvisation in care, music performance medicine, vibroacoustic harp therapy, autism, Alzheimer dementia care, music and neurological research, and more.

Past Conferences: 
November 6, 2010, featuring Dan Hill, Deforia Lane
October 22, 2011, featuring Steven Page, Richard Kogan, Therese Shroeder-Sheker

Please click here for a photo gallery.

Please click here for a video clip.

Funded Research, Engage to Create  
http://engagetocreate.com/
Sponsored by the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER)

What is this Project?
As a new form of educational professional development, the project is outlined below. Please visit the website for details and video clips of workshops.

"Engaging students through Collaborative Music Creation" or simply "Engage to Create!" is a professional development project to establish collaborative (professional) learning communities of about 4 teachers each. The CLC groups focus on finding ways to engage students in composing or improvising. Teachers accepted into the project are funded for release time to pursue their learning goals and project implementation. This project is funded by KNAER.

Who are the Partcipants?
Teachers teaching music in TDSB, WCDSB or WRDSB applied and were selected to be a part of this project. At this point no more applicants are accepted.

"Engage to Create!" Sponsoring Partners
University of Toronto, CMRC, Lee Bartel, Project Coordinator
Wilfrid Laurier University, LcMc, Lee Willingham
Toronto District School Board, Diane Jamieson, Program Coordinator - Music
Waterloo Catholic District School Board, Jen Rodrigues, Music Consultant
Waterloo Regional District School Board, Gregg Bereznick, Superintendent

Objectives of the "Engage to Create!" Project:

1. Foster student engagement through "real-world" means of collaborative music creation including improvisation, composition, and recording;
2. Develop teacher engagement in research and research application in their professional practice;
3. Develop effective embedded Professional Development practices for music/arts educators;
4. Establish productive connections and relationships between school professionals and pedagogy and community practices and practitioners.