Describe your charity/non-profit in a few sentences:

Small World uses the unifying power of music to break down barriers, build community and celebrate diversity. We do this by presenting live music, creating original online content, supporting the careers of marginalized artists and connecting like-minded parts of the music industry.

What problem does it aim to solve?

When we started, there was much less representation of the ‘real face’ of Canada on its stages. I wanted to share the richness of music from around the world that represented the cultural mosaic of the country. In doing so, we were also able to support the careers of newcomers and other musicians who often struggle to find opportunities.

When did you start/join it?

The first concert under the name Small Works was presented in 1997, hence our big celebration of a quarter century in our ‘25 -for -25’ program!

What made you want to get involved?

It was the desire to share discoveries of music from outside my cultural upbringing… to open people’s ears to the richness of traditions from around the world and connect them to Canadians, increasing representation on stages.

What was the situation like when you started?

Small World was formed at a time when people were waking up to the fact that the mainstream didn’t necessarily represent our culture. Community organizations presented concerts from various cultures, but it was still relatively rare to try to encompass the global perspective. Institutions and funders were open to the idea which enabled us to grow.

How has it changed since?

Many more organizations and presenters understand the importance of representing diversity. Which is fantastic, but also makes it harder to stand out from the crowd.

This is in part why our recent activity as a charitable organization has emphasized artist support and sectoral development in addition to music presenting. Small World Music is now the producer of the Global Toronto Music Conference (June), which last year gathered over 1100 delegates from over 70 countries. We are also just restarting our second annual eMERGEnce Music Incubator, an artist development program to assist newcomer, refugee and other equity deserving artists know more about the Canadian music landscape in order to increase representation on Toronto stages and beyond.

What more needs to be done?

We continue to strive to make space for artists and organizations who represent the incredible cultural diversity of Toronto and the country. We envision a future where music from many cultures, regardless if it is sung in English or another language, displays instruments not typically heard on the radio, is accepted as ‘normal’.

How can our readers help?

Buy tickets to our shows!

Help spread the word and follow us.

And feel free to donate to our organization.

Do you have any events coming up?

Our year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary begins September 13-19 with the launch of ‘25 for 25’… A fantastic combination of live and online music to end the summer on a high note!

Where can we follow you?

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify

PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?

I really love the work that is happening at New Circles!

https://www.newcircles.ca/about-us

The post Charitable Choices: Small World Music launches “25 for 25” appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Come From Kindness: May 4 and 5 from 8-9 pm ET. Free event. Featuring performances by over 19 Come From Away cast and band members, including co-creator David Hein, this event will be raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support Canadians affected by cancer during COVID-19. The creators and performers of this virtual cabaret-style show invite viewers to join in on Facebook to have fun, spread hope and show kindness.

Outside the March Immersive Theatre: If you’re a fan of immersive theatre experiences, you may want to explore The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries. You can book this personalized, week-long auditory adventure that unravels through a series of phone calls. The improvised narrative means you have a tailored experience that’s truly one of a kind.  Delve into your own mini-mystery using the power of good conversation.

The Second City: all things funny have moved online from shows to workshops and even kids camps! Check in Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays for the live Improv House Party at 8pm ET. For families and kids, check into the interactive Really Awesome Improv House Party every Thursday at 11 am ET.  And if you’ve ever wanted to take an improv class – you can do it in your pajamas now.

TO Live x Small World Music Wednesdays: From May 6 to June 24. Small World will co-present 8 local, newcomer artists, who will perform and provide insight into their practices. Partnering with TO LIVE on their “Living Rooms” series (Facebook Live), videos will be published weekly on Wednesdays. Participating artists include Iraqui musician, singer and actor, Ahmed Moneka; actor, producer, musician Gloria Gift; international renowned actor and musician Meesha Shafi, and more.

MusicTogether x Small World Music: Thursday, May 7 on Facebook Live. Celebrate diverse voices in this showcase on a new live-stream platform, MusicTogether. 10 artists will perform in this day-long program starting at 11 am. Artists include Amely Zhou (leader of the ‘Borderless’ project), and sarod maestro, Arnab Chakrabarty. Other artists include members of the SWM/s eMERGEence Cohort.

Hot Docs at Home on CBC: enjoy the latest documentary titles with this festival-at-home series with access to exclusive feature-length titles from the Hot Docs Festival premiering Thursday nights. The documentaries that were slated to debut during the annual Film Festival will now premiere on CBC, the free CBC Gem streaming service, and documentary channel. Included are at-home interactive, live-streamed Q&As with filmmakers.  Also head to CBC Gem for the Hot Docs at Home playlist that will offer a new selection as well as titles from past Festivals.

Sonic Boom E-Concert Series: Toronto’s iconic record store has created an online venue for Canadian artists to launch their Spring record releases. Known for their in-store performances featuring local and international artists such as Broken Social Scene, Angel Olsen, Dinosaur Jr., The Raveonettes,  Sonic Boom’s new online concert series will feature artists whose record tours were cancelled due to the pandemic. Artists will do live-streamed shows from inside the historic landmark store on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. The current line up includes Joseph Shabason (April 30 at 7 pm), and Witch Prophet (May 7 at 7 pm).

MOCA Toronto x National Film Board of Canada: Spotlight on Evelyn Lambart: Begone Dull Care: Nine Fables and Abstractions by Evelyn Lambart (streaming April 27 to May 11). Lambart was the first woman animator to join the National Film Board of Canada. MOCA Toronto had planned to screen this series however, due to the current situation, the screening is now offered online. Lambart worked on these shorts with Norman McLaren and features her colourful cut-out animations depicting adaptations of Aesop’s fables, among other stories. Curated by Steffanie Ling, this screening is a special presentation in collaboration with Images Festival.

The National Ballet of Canada: To lift your spirits and to take a much-needed break from the news, the National Ballet of Canada are offering us a series of beautiful “Ballet Moments” from popular performances including Angels’ Atlas, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, as well as a series of “meet the dancer profiles.

The National Theatre School of Canada: Free online classes covering all theatre disciplines. Professional actors, directors, designers, composers and theatre makers, artists who are all part of the teaching team will offer classes to all artists to help support and deepen their craft during this time of isolation.

New Words Festival: exhibiting the works of the graduating class of the English Section at the National Theatre School of Canada. Staging their work in a virtual setting, you’re invited to experience new innovative plays and explore what intimacy, spontaneity and togetherness mean in a lockdown digital age. The Game (May 1 and 2, on Zoom) with live audience interaction by Gillian Clark (Playwriting 3, Halifax, NS) directed by Angelica Schwartz (Directing 2, Winnipeg, MB), performed by the graduating students from the Acting program. i am entitled to rest (May 4 to 6, on YouTube) by Kalale Dalton-Lutale (Playwriting 3, Toronto, ON) and directed by Murdoch Schon (Directing 2, Montreal, QC), performed by graduating students from the Acting program.

SiriusXM launches new channels: Starting May 1 listeners will have exclusive access to nine new audio experiences with some of the most iconic entertainers of all time. The new channels include The David Bowie Channel,  Hotel California: The Eagles Channel, The Prince Channel, The Rolling Stones Channel, and more. SiriusXM is extending its unprecedented Stream Free offer through May 31. Stream Free gives free and easy access to SiriusXM’s full lineup of content on the SiriusXM app. 

The post Upcoming streaming events: What’s worth staying home for appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Mbongwana Star’s roots are in the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Star came out of another legendary group of street musicians, Staff Benda Bilili. The lead singers and founders of Mbongwana Star, Coco Ngambali and Theo Nzonza, who are both wheelchair enabled due to polio in their youth, connected with music producer Liam Farrell (aka Doctor L) and some younger musicians and voila! a fresh new African sound emerged. If you missed the show you are recommended to YouTube or stream Mbongwana Star’s first CD From Kinshasa – named one of the albums of the year in 2015 by the Guardian, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. The band have also performed at Coachella to rave reviews.

Wednesday’s band lineup included: lead vocals, Coco Yakala Ngambali and Théo Nsituvuidi Nzonza; vocals, Rodrick Matuzolele Dialungana; electric guitar, Jean Claude Kamina Mulodi; electric bass, Cubain Kabeya Tshimpanglia ; and on drums, Randy Makana Kalambay. Presented by the Small World Music Society, the Mbongwana Star show took place on July 19 at The Great Hall, in association with Batuki Music Society, Wavelength Music Series and Music Africa.

Also have to add, the recent renovation to the historic Great Hall is fantastic! The Toronto event space still feels retro, but looks much sharper and more modern: http://www.thegreathall.ca/the-main-hall/

***

Upcoming for Small World Music is their annual Fall music festival – September 14 to 17, 2017 – at various Toronto venues. This music festival will coincide with the inaugural presentation of the POLYPHONIC GROUND double bill series.

POLYPHONIC GROUND is a new Small World Music Society initiative to strengthen Toronto’s culturally-diverse music industry.

Polyphonic Ground will launch with a series of double-bill concerts on the second Thursday of every month at Revival Bar, 783 College Street. Two distinct partner organizations will be paired together to collaboratively program a night of musical discovery. The inaugural concert on September 14 pairs Ashkenaz Foundation and Small World Music Society. A fresh juxtaposition will be on stage with Batuki Music and Uma Nota presenting October 12, Link Music Lab and Good Kind Productions offering November 9, and Lula Music & Arts and Music Africa co-presenting December 14. For more information on artists, and to sign up for the newsletter, please visit: http://polyphonicground.com

Also follow Small World Music Society on Twitter for concert and event updates: https://twitter.com/smallworldnotes

The post First Toronto Show For Africa’s Mbongwana Star! appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The festival was founded by Toronto’s Art Spin, in/future Co-Artistic Directors Rui Pimenta and Layne Hinton, with the idea of connecting Ontario Place to the arts and culture as it undergoes its revitalization.

Over 100 art and music experiences will make full use of the space including more than 60 visual artists and 40 musical acts both locally and globally. Art Spin as well as 25 art organizations and over 60 individual artists will offer immersive art experiences in a variety of cross-disciplinary works. Small World Music will bring it’s international programming to the festival with diverse sounds ranging from Afrobeat to Mariachi and global electronica during the days and nights of the festival.

Our first look at the space earlier this week gave us a sneak peek at a few spaces including the Cinesphere, outdoor landing areas as the unique use of eight silos on the land. Attendees will be able to walk into the transformed silos and experience sights and sounds by artists and performers – an experience that will be quite stunning from what we’ve already witnessed!

Some of the highlights already announced include;

Max Dean, Governor-General Award winning artist who will present new photography and installation-based project in response to Ontario Place’s Wilderness Adventure Ride.

Lyla Rye, installation-based artist who will create a new site specific video work specially conceived for one of the silos.

Tom Thomson Art Gallery, in/future creative partner, will present a project by Toronto-based Mohawk artist Greg Staats who draws on a traditional Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) restorative aesthetic in his work.

Musical performances will include Dhol Foundation (London, UK),  Wally Badarou (Paris), Doom Squad (Toronto) and Luisa Maita (Brazil).

There were over 170 submissions by artists and musicians to participate in the 11 day festival — you can count on more artists and musicians to be announced during the summer on the official website www.infuture.ca . Tickets and early bird passes are also now available.

The post Ontario Place Transforms To in/future Art & Music Festival appeared first on Toronto Guardian.