December 2011 - News!

December 2011 Newsletter and Seasons Greetings

Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing  (AIRS)

University of Prince Edward Island

December 2011

To AIRS members:

Just 2 ½ years ago AIRS held its first annual meeting at the University of Prince Edward Island. Since then, over 70 researchers in 9 teams have collaborated in research on singing and development, education, and well-being. We have shared our growing knowledge in many different ways over these months-- a highlight being the annual meeting, coast to coast. The second one was in Seattle in conjunction with the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC), and the third was in St. John’s, Nfld, in conjunction with the Festival 500 Phenomenon of Singing Symposium.

Some video clips and photos of the 3rd Annual meeting can be seen in a wonderful holiday You-Tube Seasons Greeting collage compiled by AIRS Postdoctoral Fellow, Bing-Yi Pan; copy to your browser http://youtu.be/gqoGlB4lq1Q {or find it easily on the AIRS web-site main page www.airsplace.ca}.( Some photos are attached to the PDF of this newsletter, accessible on this web-site just below).  The dynamic group of seasoned professionals, eager students, and dedicated recent graduates represented many disciplinary perspectives in the technical sessions and musical styles and cultures in the singing events. Complementing the Canadians from 8 provinces were those from the US, UK, Brazil, China, Kenya, Estonia, and those representing India, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses were in good supply, made for some great choral activity.

Acknowledgements

As AIRS completes the last laps towards the milestones for each of the 9 sub-themes, the co-operation and contribution of every member of AIRS, student and faculty alike, is counted on and appreciated. We specially acknowledge the:

♪ Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for funding AIRS (to over 45 students Year 3 alone)

♪ AIRS Advisory Board members: Hilary Apfelstadt, Philip Smith, and Catherine (Kate) Stevens

♪ AIRS Theme Leaders: Frank Russo (Theme 1, Development), Patricia Campbell (Theme 2, Education), and Mary Gick (Theme 3, Well-being)

♪AIRS Sub-Theme leaders:
Theme 1: Development - Christine Tsang and Laurel Trainor (1.1), Frank Russo & Sandra Trehub (1.2), Annabel Cohen (1.3)
Theme 2: Education - Patricia Campbell (2.1), Darryl Edwards (2.2), Jenny Sullivan & Andrea Rose (2.3)
Theme 3: Godfrey Baldacchino & Lily Chen-Hafteck (3.1), Rachel Heydon (3.2), Jennifer Nicol (3.3)

♪ AIRS Policy and Planning Committee (all sub-theme leaders + representatives of the Global Group, Partners, Stakeholders, Student and Early Career Researcher group, and the Stats, IP, and Ethics Group

♪ AIRS Student and Early Career Researcher group (Andrea Emberly & Rayna Friendly, Sally Busch, Christopher Roberts among others) –special kudos for theirNewsletter!  {click on the hyperlink to see}

♪ Conference Workshop organizers: Lily Chen-Hafteck and Nancy Gleason

♪ UPEI: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University Library, Vice President Research, and Office of the President and the home team Kelly Gillis, Denise Beaton, Erica Ross, Jonathan Lane, & Bing-Yi Pan

Staffing
AIRS counted greatly on the services of Deborah Annear who in September her administrative position at AIRS to work in UPEI Department of Advancement. We miss Deborah and wish her well. This month marked the arrival of Ross Dwyer, our new Administrative Assistant), and we await the arrival of Thérèse Antonini, the new AIRS Project Manager, in early January. We look forward to a productive year with the support they will provide.

Sub-theme videoconferences January 9th to 11th
Ross Dwyer is already scheduling videoconferences for each of the 9 sub-themes between January 9th – 11th. Be sure to watch for notification of your sub-theme’s doodle poll! The main purpose of that meeting is to discuss the direction and details of the sub-theme’s proposal to support students in Year 4 (meeting the remaining milestones for the sub-theme as best as possible). Year 4 Student Funding Applications are due January 16th (submitted by faculty, not students, and possibly only by the sub-theme leader(s) on behalf of the sub-theme members) with results of the competition to be known in February for work to begin as early as April 1, 2012. Meanwhile, student work funded under Year 3 is well underway in all sub-themes. A major report on the work of AIRS since its inception is to be submitted to Ottawa in June, and Thérèse Antonini will be in touch with everyone later in January regarding responsibilities for that.

4th Annual Meeting and Midterm Review
AIRS is gearing up for 4th Annual Meeting, August 22 – 24th , at UPEI. The Midterm Review will also take place with the 5-person team from SSHRC joining us on the 22nd. There will also be a workshop on Methodologies on Singing Research. As in prior meetings, singing and technical presentations will share the stage. Save the dates in August! There will be a concerted effort made to enable the travel of those who have contributed in so many ways to the successes of AIRS.

Warmest wishes

I look forward to keeping in touch with you all during 2012, a year holding much promise for us. Please accept: my thanks for all of your dedicated efforts within AIRS, my congratulations on your research progress, my encouragement for your continued dedication to singing research, and my best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous and fulfilling New Year.

Yours in harmony,

Annabel J. Cohen, Director AIRS
(902) 628-4325
acohen (at) upei.ca

AIRS Wishes you a Happy Holiday and a Prosperous, Fulfilling New Year!

For the AIRS Season Greeting in Song  (click on the hyperlink) Bing-Yi Pan has transmographied 4 human AIRS member voices in gladsome harmony, accompanied by moving images of the participants in the 2011 AIRS Annual Meeting.  Enjoy! (If you would like to add snowflakes to the video, be sure to click on the snowflake at the right of the screen).

AIRS Student and Young Professional Newsletter, 2011 Edition

Please see the attached PDF for the AIRS Student and Young Professional Newsletter, co-edited by Rayna Friendly and Christopher Roberts.