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Mapping the Relationship Between a University and Community Music School

Amy Hillis, Richard Marsella



Abstract

In this article, the authors trace the origins of a unique partnership between a community music school in Toronto, Canada and a  neighboring  university. Co-authored by Dr. Richard Marsella, Executive Director of Community Music Schools of Toronto, and Dr. Amy Hillis, Assistant Professor of Music at York University, their commentary discusses the origins of an endowed, community-university partnership with the Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts at York University. This partnership supports and facilitates research projects that benefit community arts organizations and the Jane Finch community, an underserved neighborhood near York University and home to the "Community Music Schools of Toronto at Jane Finch." From advancement and knowledge mobilization, through to design and defining a shared mission, this article unpacks the process of building a partnership between a community music school and a university. Dr. Marsella and Dr. Hillis share their unique perspectives in a discussion of the partnership’s challenges, successes and continued evolution. They question how to build an ideal relationship between researchers and research partners that has sustainable alignment between research topics and research needs. How can creativity and artistry be used to support university researchers' objectives in alignment with a community music organization’s infrastructure? This article includes 1) analyses of case studies from the first five years of the partnership’s existence, including research projects that cultivated long-term relationships between researcher and community music school, and 2) recommendations for other academic and community institutions to develop similar partnerships.

Impact Statement *

The Helen Carswell Partnership between York University’s School of Arts, Media Performance and Design and Community Music Schools of Toronto illustrates the potential for a post-secondary-community relationship to facilitate research in the arts that is engaged in the community. In short, university researchers find practical opportunities to explore ideas while community organizations learn from emerging research in the arts. To date, this partnership has inspired similar relationships between other community music schools and universities, such as the Sarah McLachlan School of Music and MacEwan University in Edmonton, Canada.

Mapping the Relationship Between a University and Community Music School

Published:

November 14, 2024 (190 views)

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Mapping the Relationship Between a University and Community Music School © 2024 by Amy Hillis and Richard Marsella is licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0

Project Metadata:

Contributor Roles · Project Site · Sites and Institutions

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Creating Knowledge in Common

Figure 1. Students explore keyboards together at the Jane Finch location of Community Music Schools of Toronto.
A child in a red sweatshirt with the logo “RPSM” plays a keyboard while another child watches him.

CONTEXT: A Post-Secondary-Community Partnership in the Arts

The study, teaching, and application of academic research in the arts is inherently connected to the daily work of surrounding community arts organizations. As scholars, researchers, teachers, and performers, post-secondary arts researchers strive to share their artistic passions beyond the university and to be in dialogue with community members about their current practices and priorities. Conversely, community arts organizations can benefit from fresh research led by post-secondary scholars in fields like arts education, youth studies, social work, and technology. Building a collaborative relationship which respects the skills, expertise and interests of both parties can provide a new platform for mutually beneficial learning.

Since 1999, Community Music Schools of Toronto (CMST), formally known as the Regent Park School of Music, has been offering after-school, subsidized music lessons to children and youth from Regent Park, Jane Finch, and other neighborhoods in Toronto, Canada. In 2015, members from CMST met with representatives of York University in Toronto to begin discussing what alliances might be possible between the two institutions. Conveniently and importantly, CMST had a location in close proximity to York University, in the Jane Finch neighbourhood of Toronto. After years of discussion with York’s Department of Music, the conversations for an established partnership began to expand to York University’s School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD), Knowledge Mobilization Unit and Division of Advancement. With the Dean of AMPD’s support, philanthropist Dr. Allan Carswell funded a Research Chair position in dedication to his wife, Helen, titled the “Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts” at York University. By 2016, CMST and York University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cement an endowed partnership between the community music school and university. According to the MoU, this long-term partnership was established to "conduct rigorous academic research exploring the benefits of community music programs and the links between music and learning." The partnership was also meant to "significantly benefit children from high-risk neighbourhoods" and to "help drive new knowledge and practice to community-based groups serving children in the Jane and Finch community."

Figure 2. Proximity of York University, Community Music Schools of Toronto, and Fresh City Farm, site of the collaborative project "Oral History, Food Justice, and Music Making" (see below)..
An aerial map of a section of Tornto, with red stars marking the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design and York University; Community Music Schools of Toronto at Jane & Finch; and Fresh City Farm at Downsview Park.
Kevin Hamilton (2024)
Figure 3: Children from the Jane and Finch neighborhood explore music-making and self-expression as part of the subsidized music lessons provided by Community Music Schools of Toronto.
Two boys in matching light blue shirts play side-by-side keyboards.

RESEARCH

The MoU outlined a governance structure to foster this new relationship between university and community music school with "shared leadership between York and CMST (Co-Chair Model)" plus "decision making by consensus" with the help of Executive and Advisory Committees. Both committees were populated with representatives from CMST, York University and community centres in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood to ensure voices from all three parties contributed to the decision-making process. The committees created an annual working timeline for deliverables which would include the drafting of a “Call for Proposals” (CFP) for research activities that could “inform the practice, programming, or curricula of a community music school” (CFP, 2023). To this day, upon publication of a CFP every year, graduate students and faculty at York University submit proposals to the Advisory Committee for adjudication. Proposed research must focus on "bolstering community arts in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood” (CFP), with particular attention to CMST's community music work.

Since the inception of the first CFP in 2017, ongoing discussions at the committee levels were key in refining the CFP so that it represented the needs and capacity of both the community music school and the university. An ideal relationship between researchers (at York) and research partners (at CMST) needs to be win-win, where there is symbiotic alignment between research interests and research needs. Through ongoing discussions at both the Executive and Advisory Committee levels, the partnership found creative ways to support the researchers' objectives within CMST's infrastructure. Revisions to the CFP were made to better reflect the research priorities of CMST from year to year so that prospective research projects would proactively align with CMST's capacity and capabilities. The CFP evolved to also include work that did not intersect directly with CMST students/teachers. The Advisory Committee suggested the partnership find room to facilitate community music research that might not be supported by CMST's annual capacity. As a result, the most current CFP asks each proposed project to show the benefits to community music schools in general (including CMST) even if they do not propose to work directly with CMST as part of their methodology. See sample CFP (2023) in Supporting Materials, below.

SIGNIFICANCE

The Helen Carswell Partnership is significant in that it demonstrates that a relationship between a fine arts faculty at a university and a community music school can effectively facilitate meaningful community-engaged research in the arts. While supporting unique opportunities for academic researchers, this partnership also provides new offerings and information for a community music school, strengthening both parties in the process. The multitude of unique research projects that have evolved from the Helen Carswell Partnership are specific to the university-community relationship, and this work has become instrumental to the success of both partners over the past eight years.

An example of this mutually beneficial research is Diane Kolin’s Helen Carswell project that explored accessibility in music education. Kolin, a PhD candidate from York University’s music department, proposed a project in 2022 to the Helen Carswell Chair called “A Discovery of Adaptive Instruments.” Kolin’s own doctoral research explores accessibility in music performance and education with foci on musicians like Ludwig van Beethoven and Evelyn Glennie who demonstrate innovative ways to make music while living with a disability. Noting that “disability is rarely considered in music education today” (Kolin, YorkSpace, 1), Kolin wanted to further her research on accessibility in music by initiating accessibility conversations in the community music classroom and exploring strategies to make music more accessible with children. As a result, Kolin’s Helen Carswell research involved a collaboration with CMST students and faculty to explore new approaches and technologies in adapted music. She led workshops at CMST that introduced inclusive ways of music making such as exploring instruments that did not require physical touch or maximum mobility, and teaching children how to use American Sign Language (ASL) to perform a pop song. As a result of this collaboration, CMST faculty learned new techniques and explored adapted music technologies to increase inclusion and offer a diversity of pedagogies in their own sessions. Kolin’s findings from her work with CMST students contributed to the creation of her own organization, ArtsAbly, a resource for “performers and schools to make the arts more accessible to all.” (ArtsAbly.com)
Video 1. A summary of the Helen Carswell project led by Diane Kolin of ArtsAbly which explores disability, music education, and adaptive workshops. See full-length documentary of this work in Supporting Materials, below.
  • Figure 4. Students from Community Music Schools of Toronto Jane and Finch experiment with new technologies for music-making.
    Photographed from above, children gather around a handheld screen.
  • Figure 5. Students from Community Music Schools of Toronto Jane and Finch test out accessible, hands-free ways to make music.
    Children look at screens in front of shelves of musical instruments.
  • Figure 6. Helen Carswell researcher, Diane Kolin, works with students from Community Music Schools of Toronto Jane and Finch.
    A woman seated in a wheelchair shows electronic devices to two children. There are musical instruments around them in the room.
  • Figure 7. Diane and ASL music performer, Gaitrie Persaud, pose with the lyrics to the song, "The Greatest" by pop singer, Sia. Students from Community Music Schools of Toronto picked this song to sing together using ASL under Gaitrie's guidance.
    Two women, one standing and one seated in a wheelchair, smile and gesture towards lines of writing on a wall-mounted whiteboard.
  • Figure 8. Diane explains Braille to students at Community Music Schools of Toronto Jane and Finch.
    A woman seated in front of a whiteboard speaks and gestures.
  • Figure 9. Diane works with a class at Community Music Schools of Toronto Jane and Finch.
    FIve people sit talking in a circle in a classroom.
  • Figure 10. Students from Community Music Schools of Toronto Jane and Finch use American sign language to sing one of their favourite pop songs together.
    Four children stand side by side, gesturing. Three cover their faces with their hands; one covers her chest.

INTEGRATION

The arts are an integral part of this project because the partnership is between a community music school and a university’s faculty of fine arts. The Helen Carswell Partnership supports “community-engaged research in the arts” which often incorporates multiple perspectives and crosses artistic disciplines outside music, such as film, dance, design and media. The 2022 project titled “Programming Youth Media Arts via Sight, Sound and Storytelling Modules” is an example of research that integrated music making with film studies and video creation. Led by researchers from York University’s Cinema and Media Arts department, Sharon Hayashi, Barbara Evans and Jamie Whitecrow, this project helped CMST students “translate their life experiences into creative practices” by introducing them to accessible tools for music video creation (Evans et al).

Video 2. A summary of the Helen Carswell project "Programming Youth Media Arts via Sight, Sound, and Storytelling Modules" by Jamie Whitecrow.

Helen Carswell research projects have also included collaborations with faculties outside the fine arts. Examples of these interdisciplinary projects include “Testing the Efficacy of the Funds of Knowledge Strategy for Music Education” (Jefford, 2021) with Munjeera Jefford from the Faculty of Education and “Oral History, Food Justice, and Music Making” (Ford-Smith, 2023) with Honor Ford-Smith from the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. Principal Investigator, Dr. Honor Ford-Smith explains that her research aims to use music to amplify the voices of community members who are familiar with the food traditions and history in the Jane and Finch neighborhood: "In Jane and Finch, lack of access to affordable, fresh, and nutritious foods has long been identified as a systemic justice issue. Approximately 28.9 percent of Black households in Canada have precarious access to healthy food. This project shares the creative labour of unsung community members who are addressing this issue through diverse practices. These include urban farming, the distribution, preparation and consumption of food and the sharing of intergenerational ideas about food justice." Jacqueline Dwyer and Noel Livingston are two members of Dr. Ford-Smith's research team (Figures 11 and 12). See link to project website in Supporting Material.

A summary of the Helen Carswell project "Oral History, Food Justice and Music Making" by Honor Ford-Smith.
(2023) - https://vimeo.com/751758327
Figure 11. Jacqueline Dwyer of the Toronto Black Farmer's Collective at the harvest in 2022. Dwyer is a member of Toronto Black Farmers and completed her Masters in Environmental Studies at York University. She works toward a different model of food distribution that advances urban farming in the Neighbourhood Improvement Areas where she lives and delivers equitable access to healthy food.
A woman wearing bright orange holds a paper plate and a cooking utensil. There are trees behind her.
Marvin Veloso
Figure 12. Noel Livingston of the Toronto Black Farmer's Collective at the Downview farm. Livingston is a member of Toronto Black Farmers, a reggae artist and an urban farmer. He stands against food injustices, food insecurity, food poverty and works to develop an alternative model that provides access to quality, affordable, healthy and culturally relevant “clean food.”
A man sits outside eating a plate of food. Sunflowers and other plants grow behind him.
Marvin Veloso
Audio 1: "Food is the Language" (2023) by Lord-Emmanuel Achidago and Ruben “Beny” Esguerra is a musical representation of the research team's findings from their participant interviews, readings on food justice, and research on Jane and Finch. With guidance from Ruben Esgueera, a music producer with a mobile studio that has a well-know presence in the Jane and Finch neighborhood, the group came up with a basic series of rhythms, melodies, lyrics, and choruses to "amplify and underline the findings" (Ford-Smith, 2023). They then translated the themes into spoken word compositions and songs like this one.

Listen to file directly

Lord-Emmanuel Achidago and Ruben “Beny” Esguerra (2023) - https://www.yorku.ca/euc/research/ohjam/audio/

DISCOVERY

Thanks to support by the Helen Carswell Partnership, researchers and arts educators have forged new research on curricula (Gandhi), pedagogy (Pavlik), and asset mapping in community contexts (Tecle). Working with the marginalized and racialized Jane Finch community, much research has centered on how to embrace equity and diversity within arts education (Cyrus et al.; Chan; Bisson). The partnership has also helped those involved discover new approaches to arts management such as informing CMST's own “Anti-Black Racism Action Plan” (Amponsah). Recent research has also contributed cutting-edge technologies such as the use of virtual reality or modular synthesizers in music making (Ong & Gershon; Khorsandi et al.; Thumlert & Nolan). Please find a full summary of Helen Carswell Research Projects and Topics here.

REFLECTION

When the concept of a university-community partnership was first drafted, the idea was to facilitate collaborative research in community arts rather than pursue similar activities separately. For the community music school, this project has been a success in that CMST has gained access to space, people, ideas and other university resources that simply are not at their disposal otherwise. For example, York University has contributed campus space for CMST summer camps and has hosted symposiums and workshops in the field of Community Music to share relevant research from scholars around the world. From the university’s perspective, this partnership allows post-secondary researchers to explore the practical application of their ideas in the community. To support these “on the ground” interactions, CMST has facilitated additional classes in areas of music-making not already offered at CMST including steelpan drumming, traditional Chinese singing, and modular synthesizer workshops. The partnership’s approach continues to evolve in response to the constant dialogue between parties, which is imperative to keep such a partnership effective, efficient, and mutually beneficial. The partnership’s model serves as a template for additional post-secondary-community relationships across the country and beyond.

REFERENCES

Amponsah, Evelyn, and Eden Abraham. “A Comprehensive guide to enhancing RPSM’s delivery of programs to the Jane and Finch community.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2018, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37815/2.%20Amponsah%20and%20Abraham%20%20%202018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Anucha, Uzo. “Data and stories for action: A multi-method evaluation strategy for RPSM programs for youth.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2019, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37819/Uzo%20Anucha%202019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Bisson, Sophie M. “Discovering Opera: A Guide for Young Learners.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2023, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/41207/Bisson_Snapshot_Report%20%282023-06-13%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Chan, Patty. “Cultural Connections Through Music.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2022, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37815/2.%20Amponsah%20and%20Abraham%20%20%202018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Cyrus, Karen. “Group Piano Co-learning.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2018, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37816/Karen%20Cyrus%20-%202018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Evans, Barbara, Sharon Hayashi, and Jamie Whitecrow. “Programming Youth Media Arts via Sight, Sound and Storytelling Modules.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2022, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/40579/Hayashi%20Evans%20Snapshot%20report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Ford-Smith, Honor. “Oral History, Food Justice, and Music Making.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2023, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/41223/Honor%20Ford%20Smith%20Carswell%20Report%202023%20FINAL.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Gandhi, Pratik and Bill Thomas. “Improvisation and Creative Music-Making Workshop for Wind, Brass, and Percussion Students.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2023, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/41222/Pratik%20Gandhi%20Carswell%20workshop%20final%20report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Gray, Kathe. “Works-in-progress: Tweens and self-making through music making.”YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2019, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37820/Kathe%20Gray%202019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Gershon, Walter and Joel Ong. “Components of a Digital Technology Music Class.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2019. yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37840/Ong%20and%20Gershon%20-2019%20Final%20Report..pdf?sequence=10&isAllowed=y

Hillis, Amy. “Call for Proposals.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2023, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/handle/10315/41076

Jefford, Munjeera. “Sankofa Beatzz: Testing the Efficacy of the Funds of Knowledge Strategy for Music Education.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2021, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/38826/Munjeera%20final%20report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Kolin, Diane. "Disability, music education, and adaptive workshops.” Experiential Education Symposium, York University, 2 March 2023, Toronto.

Kolin, Diane. “A Discovery of Adaptive Instruments.” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2023, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/41237/Final%20report%20Diane%20Kolin%202023.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Pavlik, Cathy. “What is trauma-informed practice?” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell

Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2018, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37817/Cathy%20Pavlik%20-%202018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Tecle, Sam. “Asset Mapping in Jane and Finch.” YouTube, 4 May 2021, youtu.be/AKYXabicVOw.

Wilson, Anthony Salah. “Steelpan Development at Regent Park School of Music (RPSM).” YorkSpace: The Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, 2018, yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37818/Salah%20Wilson%202018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of the Carswell Family Foundation, Community Music Schools of Toronto and York University's School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design.

Supporting Materials

Complete list of research projects as facilitated by the Helen Carswell Partnership: https://helencarswell.ampd.yorku.ca/research/

Complete list of Helen Carswell Researchers: https://helencarswell.ampd.yorku.ca/past-research-teams/

Online database of Helen Carswell research: https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/handle/10315/36357?locale-attribute=en

CMST Talks 15, full-length documentary of Diane Kolin's Helen Carswell Research on Accessibility in Music: https://youtu.be/TrLnpIvySJM

Project website for "Oral History, Food Justice, and Music Making": https://www.yorku.ca/euc/research/ohjam/

Call for Proposals (CFP) for research activities through the Helen Carswell Partnership.
Helen_Carswell_CFP_2023.pdf

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Contributors

 Amy Hillis†: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Investigation inquiry, Methodology, Project administration, Reflective Analysis, Relationship Development Outreach, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Richard Marsella†: Conceptualization, Methodology, Reflective Analysis, Relationship Development Outreach, Resources, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Diane Kolin: Investigation inquiry, Methodology, Production - Creative, Production - Social, Resources
Jamie Whitecrow: Investigation inquiry, Methodology, Production - Creative, Production - Social, Resources
Barbara Evans: Investigation inquiry, Methodology, Production - Social
Sharon Hayashi: Data curation, Investigation inquiry, Methodology, Production - Social
Honor Ford-Smith: Investigation inquiry, Methodology, Production - Creative, Production - Social, Resources
Lord-Emmanuel Achidago: Production - Creative
Ruben Esguerra: Production - Creative

Roles

 Conceptualization: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†.
Formal Analysis: Amy Hillis†.
Investigation and inquiry: Amy Hillis†, Diane Kolin, Jamie Whitecrow, Barbara Evans, Sharon Hayashi,, Honor Ford-Smith.
Methodology: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†, Diane Kolin, Jamie Whitecrow, Barbara Evans, Sharon Hayashi,, Honor Ford-Smith.
Project administration: Amy Hillis†.
Reflective Analysis: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†.
Relationship Development and Outreach: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†.
Resources: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†, Diane Kolin, Jamie Whitecrow,, Honor Ford-Smith.
Supervision: Amy Hillis†.
Validation: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†.
Writing – original draft: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†.
Writing – review & editing: Amy Hillis†, Richard Marsella†.
Production - Creative: Diane Kolin, Jamie Whitecrow, Honor Ford-Smith, Lord-Emmanuel Achidago,, Ruben Esguerra.
Production - Social: Diane Kolin, Jamie Whitecrow, Barbara Evans, Sharon Hayashi,, Honor Ford-Smith.
Data curation: Sharon Hayashi.
† denotes by-line credit.

Ongoing

 Since November 2016

Website:

 Project Site

Sites and Institutes

 YorkSpace, York University
Helen Carswell Chair in Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, York University
Community Music Schools of Toronto, CMST

Keywords

 Community Collaboration Art As Research Music Education

Disciplines

 Music Education

Views

 190 views

Collection

 Creating Knowledge in Common

Collection Indexing Tags

 #Community Art #Participatory Design #Radical pedagogy #Intermediary #Reciprocity #Reproducibility #Scalability #Capacity building #Infrastructure