A History of Chinese Musical Instrument Education in Toronto

Abstract

Whereas students in China can take Chinese instrument training in a variety of settings, Canada has no systematized structure of Chinese music education. Indeed, little scholarly attention has been paid to the development of Chinese instrumental music education in the Chinese diaspora within North America. Based on extensive fieldwork in Toronto, I address the following questions in this article: How do Chinese immigrants pass down their music? How and where do students take Chinese instrument training? How have the methods of transmission evolved? And how do Chinese instrument pedagogical techniques bridge Chinese and Canadian contexts?