PDA/Text VersionRelease Date: April 19, 2006
Media Contact: Jim Duggleby, External Relations
E-mail: James.Duggleby@uregina.ca
Phone: (306) 585.5439
Mobile: (306) 536.4312
Fax: (306) 585.4997
U of R to host international popular music conference
The University of Regina will host the 2006 International
Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) Canada Conference,
“Spanning the Distance: Regionalism and Reflections on Popular Music in
Canada,” May 5- 7, 2006.
IASPM promotes inquiry, scholarship and analysis in the area of popular music studies. Founded in 1981, IASPM has grown into an international network of more than 700 members in 36 countries. On national and international levels, the organization's activities include conferences, publications, and research projects designed to advance an understanding of popular music and the processes involved in its production and consumption. The IASPM-Canada branch is committed to thinking about Canadian contributions to scholarship and analysis in the areas of popular music.
The conference will explore how music has served as a vehicle for protest and social struggle; a hegemonic tool; a means of constructing class, gender, race, and ethnicity; or an essential component of lifestyle for a variety of subcultures. Unlike other popular music conferences, the focus of the event will be on regionalism and reflections on popular music in Canada. Organizers aim to encourage dialogue concerning the place of popular music and popular music studies within Canada’s cultural landscape and its universities. This event will both reflect and stimulate comparative scholarship and pedagogical practices concerning the industries, cultures, traditions, and forms of popular music across all Canadian regions.
Conference organizer Charity Marsh, of the U of R Faculty of Fine Arts, says the conference incorporates a new theme every year, to address the innovative, diverse, and numerous streams of research being done nationally and internationally. In addition to encouraging dialogue on popular music and popular music studies within Canada’s cultural landscape, this year’s theme also encompasses popular music and popular music studies specific to western Canada. This includes indigenous First Nations and Métis popular music and popular music practices, as well as the musical experiences of western francophone communities.
The 2006 conference includes three keynote roundtables discussions with scholars and artists from across Canada. The topics are:
- Perspectives on Contemporary Indigenous Popular Music
- Women Teaching Popular Music in Canadian Universities
- The Flatland Scratch Seminar/ Workshop Series: Reconsidering the Project
As part of the annual conference, a gala performance will take place on Friday, May 5th, showcasing some of Canada’s most respected and diverse musical artists. Performances for the concert event include award-winning singer/songwriter Gary Fjellgaard; poet, actress, beatnik, music maker Kinnie Starr; and three-time Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winner Leela Gilday. Regina band Golden Mile will also perform as part of the main stage concert. The gala performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Darke Hall in Regina. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Tickets will be sold at X-Ray Records, Vintage Vinyl – or contact Charity Marsh at 585-5543.
During the lunch session on Saturday Little Miss Higgins and Foy Taylor will give a workshop. Regina’s DJ Kinder will spin at the closing reception.
A three-day pass for the conference $80 is (includes concert ticket). A daily pass is $30, student passes are $30 (includes concert ticket). Concert tickets are $20 ($15 for students).
The organizers of Spanning the Distance gratefully acknowledge the support of the Faculty of Fine Arts Dean’s Special Project Fund, the Department of Music, the University of Regina Conference Fund, the HRI (Humanities Research Institute) as well as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
For more information please go to the website at http://uregina.ca/IASPM. For more information contact Charity Marsh at 585-5543 or by email at charity.marsh@uregina.ca.
IASPM promotes inquiry, scholarship and analysis in the area of popular music studies. Founded in 1981, IASPM has grown into an international network of more than 700 members in 36 countries. On national and international levels, the organization's activities include conferences, publications, and research projects designed to advance an understanding of popular music and the processes involved in its production and consumption. The IASPM-Canada branch is committed to thinking about Canadian contributions to scholarship and analysis in the areas of popular music.
The conference will explore how music has served as a vehicle for protest and social struggle; a hegemonic tool; a means of constructing class, gender, race, and ethnicity; or an essential component of lifestyle for a variety of subcultures. Unlike other popular music conferences, the focus of the event will be on regionalism and reflections on popular music in Canada. Organizers aim to encourage dialogue concerning the place of popular music and popular music studies within Canada’s cultural landscape and its universities. This event will both reflect and stimulate comparative scholarship and pedagogical practices concerning the industries, cultures, traditions, and forms of popular music across all Canadian regions.
Conference organizer Charity Marsh, of the U of R Faculty of Fine Arts, says the conference incorporates a new theme every year, to address the innovative, diverse, and numerous streams of research being done nationally and internationally. In addition to encouraging dialogue on popular music and popular music studies within Canada’s cultural landscape, this year’s theme also encompasses popular music and popular music studies specific to western Canada. This includes indigenous First Nations and Métis popular music and popular music practices, as well as the musical experiences of western francophone communities.
The 2006 conference includes three keynote roundtables discussions with scholars and artists from across Canada. The topics are:
- Perspectives on Contemporary Indigenous Popular Music
- Women Teaching Popular Music in Canadian Universities
- The Flatland Scratch Seminar/ Workshop Series: Reconsidering the Project
As part of the annual conference, a gala performance will take place on Friday, May 5th, showcasing some of Canada’s most respected and diverse musical artists. Performances for the concert event include award-winning singer/songwriter Gary Fjellgaard; poet, actress, beatnik, music maker Kinnie Starr; and three-time Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winner Leela Gilday. Regina band Golden Mile will also perform as part of the main stage concert. The gala performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Darke Hall in Regina. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Tickets will be sold at X-Ray Records, Vintage Vinyl – or contact Charity Marsh at 585-5543.
During the lunch session on Saturday Little Miss Higgins and Foy Taylor will give a workshop. Regina’s DJ Kinder will spin at the closing reception.
A three-day pass for the conference $80 is (includes concert ticket). A daily pass is $30, student passes are $30 (includes concert ticket). Concert tickets are $20 ($15 for students).
The organizers of Spanning the Distance gratefully acknowledge the support of the Faculty of Fine Arts Dean’s Special Project Fund, the Department of Music, the University of Regina Conference Fund, the HRI (Humanities Research Institute) as well as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
For more information please go to the website at http://uregina.ca/IASPM. For more information contact Charity Marsh at 585-5543 or by email at charity.marsh@uregina.ca.
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