{"id":56244,"date":"2019-05-08T17:11:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T21:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&#038;p=56244"},"modified":"2025-10-17T16:39:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T20:39:44","slug":"documentary-explores-power-of-music","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/documentary-explores-power-of-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Rich Tapestries Documentary Explores the Power of Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-max  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n                    \n                    \n            \n    <div class=\"cu-wideimage relative flex items-center justify-center mx-auto px-8 overflow-hidden md:px-16 rounded-xl not-prose  my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 bg-opacity-50 bg-cover bg-cu-black-50 pt-24 pb-32 md:pt-28 md:pb-44 lg:pt-36 lg:pb-60 xl:pt-48 xl:pb-72\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-banner-1200x900.jpg); background-position: 50% 50%;\">\n\n                    <div class=\"absolute top-0 w-full h-screen\" style=\"background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.600);\"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"relative z-[2] max-w-4xl w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-2 cu-wideimage-image cu-zero-first-last\">\n            <header class=\"mx-auto mb-6 text-center text-white cu-pageheader cu-component-updated cu-pageheader--center md:mb-12\">\n\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold mb-2 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] cu-pageheader--center text-center mx-auto after:left-px\">\n                        Rich Tapestries Documentary Explores the Power of Music\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                            <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"absolute bottom-0 w-full z-[1]\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 1280 312\">\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M26.412 315.608c-.602-.268-6.655-2.412-13.524-4.769a1943.84 1943.84 0 0 1-14.682-5.144l-2.276-.858v-5.358c0-4.876.086-5.358.773-5.09 1.674.643 21.38 5.84 34.646 9.109 14.682 3.59 28.935 6.858 45.936 10.449l9.874 2.089H57.322c-16.4 0-30.31-.16-30.91-.428ZM460.019 315.233c42.974-10.074 75.602-19.88 132.443-39.867 76.16-26.791 152.063-57.709 222.385-90.663 16.7-7.823 21.336-10.074 44.262-21.273 85.004-41.688 134.719-64.193 195.291-88.413 66.55-26.577 145.2-53.584 194.27-66.765C1258.5 5.626 1281.34 0 1282.24 0c.17 0 .34 27.596.34 61.3v61.299l-2.23.375c-84.7 13.718-165.93 35.955-310.736 84.931-46.494 15.753-65.427 22.076-96.166 32.15-9.102 3-24.814 8.198-34.989 11.574-107.543 35.954-153.008 50.422-196.626 62.639l-6.74 1.876-89.126-.054c-78.135-.054-88.782-.161-85.948-.857ZM729.628 312.875c33.229-10.985 69.248-23.523 127.506-44.207 118.705-42.223 164.596-57.709 217.446-73.302 2.62-.75 8.29-2.465 12.67-3.751 56.19-16.772 126.94-33.597 184.17-43.671 5.07-.91 9.66-1.768 10.22-1.875l.94-.161v170.236l-281.28-.054H719.968l9.66-3.215ZM246.864 313.411c-65.041-2.251-143.047-12.11-208.432-26.256-18.375-3.965-41.73-9.538-42.202-10.074-.171-.214-.257-21.38-.214-47.046l.129-46.618 6.654 3.697c57.313 32.043 118.491 56.531 197.699 79.143 40.313 11.521 83.459 18.058 138.669 21.059 15.584.857 65.685.857 81.14 0 33.744-1.876 61.306-4.93 88.396-9.806 6.396-1.126 11.634-1.983 11.722-1.929.255.375-20.48 7.769-30.999 11.038-28.592 8.948-59.288 15.646-91.873 20.147-26.36 3.59-50.015 5.627-78.35 6.698-15.584.59-55.209.59-72.339-.053Z\"><\/path>\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M-3.066 295.067 32.06 304.1v9.033H-3.066v-18.066Z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n\n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p>Early in a new documentary film that captures the heart of Jesse Stewart&#8217;s project <a href=\"https:\/\/futurefunder.carleton.ca\/campaigns\/we-are-all-musicians-support-inclusive-music-making-in-our-community\/\" target=\"_blank\">We Are All Musicians<\/a> he explains that its intention is explicit in its name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the idea that everybody\u2014you know, everyone\u2014has the right to make music and experience music if they want to,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A celebration of the project and the premiere of <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/334477726\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Rich Tapestries<\/em><\/a> gathered musicians, educators, students and children at Carleton University on May 5, 2019. The half-hour doc showcases how Stewart, a renowned percussionist, Juno award-winning musician, visual artist and music instructor, is bringing people together through inclusive activities and interactive concerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rich Tapestries: The Ongoing Story of WAAM\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/334477726?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Filmmaker <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/hasi\" target=\"_blank\">Hasi Eldib<\/a>, a video producer at Carleton&#8217;s Media Production Centre, connected with Stewart in early 2017 to document the WAAM initiatives. Eldib strove to capture the great lengths to which Stewart went to create meaningful experiences for hundreds of people.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose cu-quote cu-component-spacing\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really interested in stories of the heart,&#8221; says Eldib.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Funding for the video was provided by a grant from ArtsEverwhere, a division of the Musagetes Foundation, and Eldib singlehandedly shot and edited&nbsp;<em>Rich Tapestries<\/em>. Stewart made it clear that the video producer would have full creative control of the story he wished to tell through film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I can really articulate in words what it&#8217;s been like working with Jesse,&#8221; says Eldib. &#8220;It&#8217;s been incredible.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since he was a kid, Stewart has been obsessed with sonics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I remember hearing a sound that really captivated my imagination and to me there was a kind of sense of magic in that sound,&#8221; he says in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull wp-image-56250 size-full w-screen ml-offset-center cu-max-w-child-max px-4 md:px-6 lg:px-12\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680.jpg\" alt=\"A downward view of Jesse Stewart and Hasi Eldib playing synthesizers.\" class=\"wp-image-56250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-reflection-1200x680-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"finding-rhythm-and-song-in-all-things\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Finding Rhythm and Song in All Things<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>He learned early on that rhythm and song were everywhere, in all things. Armed with that sense of wonder and a love of drumming, Stewart grew up to become a jazz percussionist,&nbsp; dedicated teacher and promoter of the powers of musical art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through WAAM, he shares his skills as composer, researcher and instrument builder. For Stewart, there is no device too analog to make music\u2014he has played whole concerts on ice xylophones, a series of library books and a piece of cardboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, no technology is too high for WAAM. One interactive concert allowed a dancer with Down syndrome create her own song using tablet-based Adaptive Use Musical Instruments (AUMI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680.jpg\" alt=\"A child interacts with a music-making device positioned on a blackboard.\" class=\"wp-image-56254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant2-1200x680-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Featured in the film, the AUMI was invented by composer and humanitarian Pauline Oliveros, which whom Stewart has performed and recorded several times. For more than 10 years, and continuing after Oliveros&#8217;s passing in 2016, Stewart and a group of Canadian and American researchers known as the AUMI-Consortium continue to develop and improve the instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose cu-quote cu-component-spacing\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;She had this idea, over a decade ago now, to try to develop an instrument that could adapt to anyone&#8217;s range of mobility,&#8221; says Stewart. &#8220;That motion could be tracked and then translated into sound.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Accessibility and inclusivity figure prominently in everything WAAM does. AUMIs were available for play following the film&#8217;s screening and a short Q&amp;A with Stewart and Eldib. For the reception, the sample-storing keyboards of a unique instrument called the Octamasher filled Richcraft Hall&#8217;s atrium with hip hop and dance beats.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull wp-image-56256 size-full w-screen ml-offset-center cu-max-w-child-max px-4 md:px-6 lg:px-12\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680.jpg\" alt=\"A particpant plays the keyboard.\" class=\"wp-image-56256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/rich-tapestries-participant3-1200x680-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"showcasing-the-power-of-music\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Showcasing the Power of Music<p><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"since-2014-stewart-has-collaborated-with-organizations-that-support-people-with-learning-or-mobility-disabilities-and-children-of-all-ages-to-host-family-activities-concerts-and-experiments-for-soun\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Since 2014, Stewart has collaborated with organizations that support people with learning or mobility disabilities and children of all ages to host family activities, concerts and experiments for sound exploration.<\/p>\n<p>WAAM workshops, performances and projects take place anywhere, from the National Arts Centre (NAC) to the wetlands of Ottawa&#8217;s Greenbelt.<\/p>\n<p>The film hinges on the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/nac-cna.ca\/en\/event\/15987\" target=\"_blank\">Symphony Hack Lab<\/a>&#8221; performance in February 2018, when Stewart and students from Ottawa&#8217;s Regina Street Alternative School performed at the NAC. Backed by the NAC Orchestra, the group led by Stewart performed an homage to <a href=\"http:\/\/ncc-ccn.gc.ca\/places\/mud-lake\" target=\"_blank\">Mud Lake<\/a> in the Britannia Conservation Area using all manner of instruments.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2.jpg\" alt=\"Jesse Stewart performs at the NAC with an audience of children and their families as part of the We Are All Musicians Project.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"669\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2-400x223.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2-700x390.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-8.16.11-PM2-200x112.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure><p><\/p>\n<p>To Stewart, the connections forged over music-making are powerful ones.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Those musical relationships aren&#8217;t just musical relationships,&#8221; he says in the film. &#8220;We&#8217;re also creating and articulating social relationships as we interact with one another.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ever curious, Stewart continues to study those relationships as they develop around his work. What it all confirms for him is that music is a fundamental human right and a means of communication that transcends language.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Early in a new documentary film that captures the heart of Jesse Stewart&#8217;s project We Are All Musicians he explains that its intention is explicit in its name. &#8220;That&#8217;s the idea that everybody\u2014you know, everyone\u2014has the right to make music and experience music if they want to,&#8221; he says. A celebration of the project and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":56258,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28,1592],"cu_story_tag":[1920],"class_list":["post-56244","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships","cu_story_type-teaching-learning","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-arts-and-social-sciences"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/56244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/56244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98471,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/56244\/revisions\/98471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=56244"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=56244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}