(Ph.D. thesis working title)                           

After many years away from academia, I embarked on a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto in 2004. A year previously, University of Alberta ethnomusicologist Regula Qureshi had suggested to me that I consider returning to ethno to study trends towards the kind of non-genre-specific work I had been creating over the past decade. Shortly thereafter, I was invited to speak to a few faculty members at UofT regarding how the faculty might be able to increase the ‘diversity’ of the student population in the music department. I did not have a ready answer, apart from “completely change the undergraduate program” and “add improvisation”. The question intrigued me enough that I continued to ponder it over the next few months until I found myself sitting in an internet café in Bangalore in February 2004 completing an application form for UofT’s Ph.D. program (ironically, at one point I heard a familiar song playing in the café and looked up to  see an Indian-made video for a song by Canadian vocalist and dancer Bageshree Vazé  playing on Indian MTV!).

I have been teaching violin for well over 25 years, and increasingly have found myself less convinced that tradtional teaching methods are the best ways to prepare students for music-making in contemporary Canada. Numerous young musicians and their teachers have approached me to ask about alternative techniques and musicianship strategies. Furthermore, students with foundations in Western Classical technique have been asking me for references to alternative undergraduate programs that would allow them to become creator-performers whose creative endeavours stem from ethnomusicological fieldwork. Currently, nothing of the sort exists in Canada.

At the same time, I have witnessed a sharp decline in working opportunities for orchestral musicians over the past decade and a half in Toronto. Unfortunately, this is not just a localized trend: orchestras are collapsing across North America. Western Classical music no longer wields the same cultural caché it once did. In the Canadian context, where most non-commercial music is supported by arms-length government agencies, I believe the move away from Western Classical music can - financially at least - be traced to the country’s adoption of official multiculturalism.

I do not consider myself a natural academic: I am more drawn to theorizing about composition and violin technique! Nevertheless, I have been subconsciously affected by identity politics, multiculturalism and representation throughout my professional career. My goal in writing this Ph.D. thesis is to shed light on the complex interplay between: Canada’s history of artistic endeavour and cultural support; biculturalism, multiculturalism and diversity; identity politics; the ideals of liberal democracy; and conflicting notions of authenticity. My ethnological ‘field’ is Canada’s arts councils. My secondary field is you! If you are a musician, an arts worker, an audience member, or simply someone interested in the topic, I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic! Please send me an e-mail with something referencing my thesis or my research in the subject heading. parmela@parmela.com

I hope to add a survey in the next few weeks, so please check back!