Music to her ears: CBU researcher wins national award for diversity in music

Dr. Marcia Ostashewski and her colleagues are riding a high after the Cape Breton University professor was awarded one of the highest honours in Canada in her field of work.

"I think I'm still floating on cloud nine,” said Ostashewski.

Ostashewski is the head of CBU's Centre for Sound Communities. Her students - and their music - come from places like Africa and South America, along with Indigenous artists from Cape Breton Island.

Now, she has received an Impact Award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for the work she has done promoting diversity in music.

"That includes festivals,” said Ostashewski. "That includes recording projects. It includes training the next generation of professionals - diverse professionals, in the case of our work - who are already reshaping the music industry."

"Her travel, her work, has gone to Africa, gone to Brazil and across North America,” said Adango Miadonye, a colleague at CBU who also acts as an advisor to the school's president on diversity and equity.

On Monday, Ostashewski's work took her to Ottawa, where she and her team picked up the award. They were also honoured in the House of Commons.

The award is also considered an achievement for the university.

"Even though we are small, we are competitive,” Miadonye said. "Our researchers are competitive with other universities, other researchers, in top Canadian universities - as shown by this award."

While being in Ottawa to receive the award was a pretty big honour, the professor - and her students have another exciting trip coming up.

"Immediately, a Mi'kmaq delegation and I - we are going to New Zealand to begin sharing about this research at a major international conference,” Ostashewski said.

At the award ceremony in the nation's capital, the Sons of Membertou performed a song.

The Cape Breton group will also be front and center in one of Dr. Ostashewski's next big projects.

"The Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and musicians with whom we work, we are going to begin releasing albums,” Ostashewski said. "And the very first one of these albums is the Sons of Membertou, and that will be released in February."

For now, they're celebrating an honour which was music to their ears.

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