6 - Community Music in Canada with Lee Willingham

In this episode, Dr. Lee Willingham delves into his journey into the world of Community Music, exploring the inspiration that led him to become involved and how he played a pivotal role in shaping the Community Music degree programs at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. He shares his experiences in designing these innovative programs and offers practical advice for implementing similar initiatives at other universities. Additionally, Dr. Willingham discusses two significant articles he co-authored: "Environment, Intention, and Intergenerational Music Making: Facilitating Participatory Music Making in Diverse Contexts of Community Music" with Kirstin Anderson, and "Drum Circles and Community Music: Reconciling the Difference" with Kelly Laurila.

Our guest: Dr. Lee Willingham is a professor in the music faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University and coordinates the music education and graduate programs in community music. He co-authored (with Lee Higgins) „Engaging in Community Music: An introduction“ and edited „Community Music at the Boundaries“. He was the editor of the Canadian Music Educator for ten years and co-edited the book „Creativity and Music Education“.
https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-music/faculty-profiles/lee-willingham/index.html

More information about the International Journal of Community Music:
https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-community-music

More information on the Grand River Black Music Festival and Conference:
https://www.grandriverblackmusic.com

This podcast series is hosted by Alicia de Bánffy-Hall and Roger Mantie and produced by Laurie Hall. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Background in Community Music
• 2:01 Developing Degree Programs in Community Music
• 6:20 Designing and Implementing Programs in Universities
• 9:50 Lee Willingham's research
• 12:10 Incorporating Indigenous Approaches in Community Music
• 16:12 The Power of Community Music in Creating Change