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I have dedicated my academic and musical career to community-engaged social change. As an academic, my research focuses on equity and inclusion in and through music. I have a Master of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto, and a PhD from the University of Toronto in Music Education, both focusing on music making in community contexts.
I joined the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2017, where I coordinate the Bachelor of Music: Community Music program and the MA in Community Music. I teach undergraduate courses in community music. At the graduate level, I teach interdisciplinary arts and arts-informed research methods, and supervise MA and PhD students. I currently direct the research centre Laurier Centre for Music in the Community.
As a performer, my singing career has run the gamut of musicals, classical repertoire, folk music, vocal improv and world music. As a community musician, I have led the Voice and Choral department at Dixon Hall Music School (Toronto) for five years, and I was a frequent guest conductor for Echo Women’s Choir (Toronto). I also worked with Sing for Life (Edmonton) to pilot music classes for mothers in conflict with the law so that they can learn action songs, games, and lullabies to sing with their children.
I joined the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2017, where I coordinate the Bachelor of Music: Community Music program and the MA in Community Music. I teach undergraduate courses in community music. At the graduate level, I teach interdisciplinary arts and arts-informed research methods, and supervise MA and PhD students. I currently direct the research centre Laurier Centre for Music in the Community.
As a performer, my singing career has run the gamut of musicals, classical repertoire, folk music, vocal improv and world music. As a community musician, I have led the Voice and Choral department at Dixon Hall Music School (Toronto) for five years, and I was a frequent guest conductor for Echo Women’s Choir (Toronto). I also worked with Sing for Life (Edmonton) to pilot music classes for mothers in conflict with the law so that they can learn action songs, games, and lullabies to sing with their children.
My research focuses on historical and contemporary issues of inclusion and justice in participatory music. My research currently focuses on questions of equity and inclusion in music. A sample of research projects, supported in part with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council:
- Community Music in Canada, which investigates the competencies that Canadian musicians need to lead participatory music making in complex socio-cultural contexts. The project has created micro documentaries of 15 minutes or less, all available on the YouTube channel @communitymusicincanada.
- Participatory Music Network, launching in collaboration with the Canadian New Music Network to link community musicians and researchers across Canada, provide resources and professional development.
- The Gahu Project, which used participatory action research and arts-based research methods to explore music and racial justice in Waterloo region high schools.
- Reflective Iterative Scenario Enactments (RISE) that integrates professional musicians and community members in collaborative opera development on the topic of future cataclysms.
- Awarded the 2024 Early Career Researcher Award at Wilfrid Laurier University
- Awarded the 2019 Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Award for Teaching Excellence
- Awarded 2012 SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Award for Writings on Canadian Music
Fumbling toward opera creation with/in community: A reflexive dialogue. International Journal for Community Music, 16(3), 255-70. [co-written with C. Kinnunen]
63(1), 49–58.[co-written with F. Juma]
“From inclusion to inclusivity: A review of community music scholarship.” International Journal of Community Music (12)2. [co-written with J. Krar]
“Engaging contemporary ideas of community music through historical sociology.” In R. Wright, G. Johannsen, P. Kanellopoulos, and P. Schmidt (Eds.) Routledge handbook of sociology in music education. New York, NY: Routledge. [forthcoming]
“The construction of citizenship through musical performance in Toronto’s settlement houses, 1930-1939.” MusiCultures 43(1), pp. 41-63.
“Making a mess of everything: Excursions through communities, musics, academics, longing, and belonging.” Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, 12(1). http://liminalities.net/12-1/mess.pdf [co-authored with K. Galway]
“Grappling with inclusion: Ethnocultural diversity and socio-musical experiences in Common Thread Community Chorus of Toronto.” International Journal of Community Music, (8)3, 217–231, doi: 10.1386/ijcm.8.3.217_1.
Yerichuk, D. (2014). ‘Socialized music’: Historical formations of community music through social rationales. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 13(1), 125–53.
Yerichuk, D. (2014). Community singing as troubled learning: Exploring musical, social, and ethical dimensions of safety and risk among adult singers. The Phenomenon of Singing 8, 74-83.
I endeavour to create a learning environment where students keep themselves on their growing edge within their learning process. I aim to balance pursuit of excellence with a culture of care and collaboration. I consider my classroom a success when there is lively and active engagement among all students. I love the sound of a classroom filled with animated discussions and enthusiastic music-making.
I love working in Laurier’s Faculty of Music. Students and faculty alike are passionate and innovative in pursuing musical excellence, while also infusing a strong sense of community in all that they do. There’s no place I’d rather be!
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