Where Waters Meet: Sherryl Sewepagaham + Canadian Chamber Choir

Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars have called for music educators to decolonize and Indigenize their work (e.g., Prest & Goble, 2018; Robinson, 2019, 2020; Young, 2023). This Business Strategy Internship aims to support the decolonization of vocal practices and promote the Indigenization of music education. It builds on PI Sirek’s prior SSHRC-funded research and longstanding collaborations amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, and Canadian Chamber Choir’s (Dr. Julia Davids) rich history of commissioning and collaborating with Indigenous artists through the Where Waters Meet (WWM) project (Canadian Chamber Choir, 2016). WWM commenced in 2016 and has included extensive collaborations with Indigenous artists and three residencies in Indigenous learning spaces.

The CCC, a 21-voice national professional choir in which PI Sirek is a singer, will work alongside JUNO-nominated and Vanier scholarship awardee Indigenous composer, singer, and educator Sherryl Sewepagaham (BMT, BEd, MEd, PhD student) to create a new choral work in real-time with ~70 children and ~50 youth in Nova Scotia, August 10-16, 2025 in partnership with the Nova Scotia Choral Federation. This BSI project is Phase 3 of an ongoing collaboration between the Canadian Chamber Choir (CCC) and Indigenous artist Sherryl Sewepagaham (Cree-Dene).

Faculty Supervisor:

Danielle Sirek

Student:

Partner:

Canadian Chamber Choir

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Arts, entertainment and recreation

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: