"Sound Journeys" photo by Max Avdeev
In collaboration with Harbourfront Centre and British Underground, Sound Journeys presents three pairs of Canadian and British singer-songwriters who will embark on three train journeys across the country. These train residencies will conclude with live performances at the Sounds of Home festival series at Harbourfront Centre in July.
Artists will perform work chosen to reflect their journey, music that resonates with their experience seeing, firsthand, the sights and sounds of Canada’s cultural landscape. Nick Sherman, singer and guitarist from Northern Ontario said, “Playing music on a train is something I've never done. I'm excited to meet new people and perform while experiencing Canada in this truly unique way.”
The residencies and concluding performances will each highlight a different region of the country: from Vancouver to Toronto for Our Home on Native Land on June 30, from Halifax to Toronto for Shield to Shore on July 15, and from Winnipeg to Toronto for Northern Passages on July 21. Each residency will include a local visual artist who will capture and document the journey, using the landscape to inspire their own creative interest and practice.
The performances during the Sounds of Home festival series will feature a diversity of voices and sounds to explore the different narrative threads interwoven in Canada’s history through Indigenous, French, English and immigrant heritage.
“We are proud to work in partnership with the Harbourfront Centre to explore and highlight the theme of Home, celebrating a very significant milestone in Canadian history,” said Mariya Afzal, Country Director of British Council Canada. “The music inspired by Canada’s dynamic landscape will showcase the great diversity of voices, stories and deep relationships between cultures within the country.”
“There's something about hauling an instrument and a duffel bag onto a train that makes you feel like you’re a part of a much bigger story as a musician and a traveler,” said Jess Morgan, participating singer-songwriter born in Norwich, England. “Doing this in Canada just takes the experience to a new level.”
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The participating artists are:
Journey 1: Our Home on Native Land – Vancouver to Toronto
Performance: June 30
David Morin – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Métis Native American descent, based in British Columbia
Sarathy Korwar – Percussionist and composer. Born in the US, raised in India and now based in London, UK
Sophia Burke - Interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Born in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Journey 2: Shield to Shore – Halifax to Toronto
Performance: July 15
Flavia Nascimento – Singer and guitarist. Born in Brazil, based in Quebec City, Canada
Luke Jackson – Singer-songwriter. From Canterbury, Kent, UK
Jenni Welsh – Artist, photographer, videographer, and video editor living in Halifax, NS
Journey 3: Northern Passages - Winnipeg to Toronto
Performance: July 21
Nick Sherman – Singer and guitarist. From Northern Ontario, Canada
Jess Morgan – Singer-songwriter. Born in Norwich, England
KC Adams – Artist specializing in new media, photography, video, and installation, based in Winnipeg, MB
British Council
Founded in 1934, the British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities. The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. The British Council is a global organization with more than 200 offices in over 110 countries and territories. The Council touches the lives of around 500 million people every year – almost a tenth of the world’s population. In Canada, the British Council has two offices and works across Arts, Education, Society, English and Exams.
About Now | À Propos – 2017 cultural arts program
Cultural exchanges and the exploration of innovative ideas are integral to our work as we aspire to find new ways of connecting with and understanding each other through the arts. This year highlights a milestone for Canada, and it is an opportunity for the British Council to reflect on the meaning of cultural relations today. Defined by reciprocal cultural interactions, the 2017 cultural program explores the rich stories that can be found in the complex and prolific relationship between the UK and Canada.
Source: British Council Canada
