African Nova Scotian Music Association

African Nova Scotian Music Association
Name	African Nova Scotian Music Association
Formation	1990s
Headquarters	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Region served	Nova Scotia
Leader title	Executive Director

African Nova Scotian Music Association is a community-based organization rooted in Halifax, Nova Scotia, dedicated to preserving, promoting, and advancing the musical heritage of African Nova Scotians. The association operates at the intersection of cultural preservation and contemporary performance, engaging with local institutions, touring ensembles, and national bodies to support artists, archives, and events. It collaborates with municipal and provincial partners, ensembles, and festivals to present programming that links historical traditions with contemporary genres.

History

The association emerged from collaborations among leaders connected to the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, and community choirs in the 1990s, building on legacies traced to the Black Loyalists, Africville, and the Merchants Exchange of Halifax cultural networks. Early initiatives involved partnerships with the Nova Scotia Museum, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Library and Archives Canada, and local churches such as St. Matthew's United Church and Camp Hill Cemetery memorial projects. Funding and policy engagement connected the association to programs from Canada Council for the Arts, Heritage Canada, and the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. The association drew on oral histories linked to figures associated with Mayann Francis and community leaders active in the Halifax Explosion commemorations and regional heritage tours.

Mission and Programs

The association's mission foregrounds preservation, performance, and professional development through initiatives that link archives, recording, and presentation. Programs include archival collaborations with Library and Archives Canada, digitization projects with the Nova Scotia Archives, residency partnerships with Tideways Music-affiliated studios, and mentorship schemes with conservatory programs at Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts and university music departments at Dalhousie University Faculty of Music. Artist development programs connect to national platforms such as Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Juno Awards, and touring opportunities through networks including Music Nova Scotia and Félix Awards-connected promoters. The association also manages community ensembles, recording sessions, and grant-writing workshops aligned with funders like Canada Council for the Arts and foundations modeled on the Vancouver Foundation.

Notable Artists and Ensembles

The association has worked with and supported a range of performers and groups spanning gospel, jazz, folk, R&B, and choral traditions. Collaborators include artists and ensembles with ties to Portia White, George Elliott Clarke, Kayla Dunbar, Matt Braithwaite, Mighty Popo, and ensembles such as the Nova Scotia Mass Choir, Black Cultural Centre Choir, Noah's Ark Gospel Choir, and contemporary groups who have performed at venues like Rebecca Cohn Auditorium and The Carleton. It has facilitated projects involving musicians who have appeared on platforms associated with CBC Radio One, Nielsen Music, and producers linked to Motown-influenced recording sessions. The association's alumni network overlaps with artists who have toured through Canada Music Week and partnered with arts presenters such as Halifax Pop Explosion and Parks Canada heritage concerts.

Events and Festivals

The association organizes and curates concerts, heritage series, and festival stages that take place alongside established events including Afrifest, Halifax Jazz Festival, Caribbean Carnival (Halifax), and community remembrance events in North End, Halifax. Annual programming includes tribute concerts that coincide with anniversaries connected to Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia celebrations, collaborative stages at the Atlantic Jazz Festival, and themed series aligning with Black History Month (Canada). Touring showcases have been presented in collaboration with presenters from Toronto International Film Festival-adjacent cultural programming, and regional showcases have partnered with regional tourism boards and venues such as Neptune Theatre and Shubie Park community events.

Education and Community Outreach

Education programs include workshops, school residencies, and lecture-performances delivered in partnership with institutions such as Halifax Regional Centre for Education, Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, and community sites like Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. Outreach emphasizes youth choirs, apprenticeship schemes linked to the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, and collaboration with historians and cultural workers associated with Nova Scotia Museum exhibits and Library and Archives Canada oral-history training. The association runs curriculum-linked workshops for teachers participating in provincial initiatives and hosts intergenerational programs involving elders who connect music-making to narratives tied to Black Loyalists and community settlement histories in Shelburne, Nova Scotia and Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia.

Awards and Recognition

The association and its affiliated artists have received recognition through nominations and awards administered by bodies including Music Nova Scotia Awards, the East Coast Music Awards, and acknowledgments from federal cultural bodies such as Canada Council for the Arts. Community citations have come from municipal proclamations by Halifax Regional Municipality and commemorative honors connected to the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia and provincial heritage awards administered by the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. Collaborating artists have also been finalists for national prizes like the Juno Awards and have participated in curated programming for institutions such as CBC Music and touring grants adjudicated by FACTOR.

Category:Music organizations based in Canada Category:African Nova Scotian culture