Cross-cultural collaboration: ‘How do We Listen?’
Spring 2008
Joel’s experience in St. Andrew’s inspired him to further broaden his perspective on cross-cultural collaboration. That same year, he was commissioned by Mount Alison University Professor Linda Pearse to write music and conduct for her group Sachabuche. The project was called How do We Listen? And was a unique collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians and scholars. My three-part composition, “When you love a river,” weaves together 17th century sacred instruments (sackbuts, voice, organ theorbo, baroque violins), Indigenous singing and drumming (Wolastoqoyik, Mi’Kmaq), spoken word, and live-performed soundscapes. Having recently visited a museum exhibit on Leonard Cohen, Joel’s approach to composing was to leave “cracks” (spaces) in the music where the “light” (Indigenous creations or improvisations) would come in.