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Junior Research Fellows are PhD candidates and Postdoctoral fellows at Laurier or other institutions who have a demonstrated interest in the research agenda and/or activities of the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community, who request to the Director to be a Junior Research Fellow, and whose request has been accepted by LCMC. The result of the application will be communicated in writing by the Director. Junior Research Fellows can be members for three-year terms.
Student Members are individuals in Masters or first two years of their PhD, and may be Laurier students, or students from other institutions, who have requested to the Director to be a Student Member, and whose request has been accepted by LCMC. The result of the application will be communicated in writing by the Director.
Members are eligible to vote in the Annual General Meeting, and may nominate themselves for a position on the executive committee.
We welcome students to participate in LCMC from Laurier, whose research focuses on community music. We also welcome graduate students from other universities as capacity allows.
Email lcmc@wlu.ca for more information.
Junior Research Fellows
PhD Candidate, Laurier Faculty of Music
Cynthia Kinnunen is a music educator, community musician, contract teaching faculty and PhD candidate (Community Music) at Wilfrid Laurier University. She holds a Master of Arts in Community Music, Bachelor of Arts [Hons] in music, diploma in arts/non-profit administration, and Grade Ten Conservatory piano certification. Her current teaching portfolio includes: online and in-person lifelong learning community programs such as the popular Royal City Ukulele Ensemble; teacher/pedagogy workshops; private instruction; and undergraduate courses. Her research interests include musicking across the lifespan (particularly midlife and beyond); social music-making and community ensemble learning (social, relational, and systems thinking in these contexts); health and well-being, especially in the lives of women and in facilitation/teaching; and of course, the ukulele in pedagogical, social and community contexts. Current methodological approaches include narrative inquiry, a/r/tography, and arts-based research (ABR) methods.
- Website: cynthiakmusic.com
- Instagram: @cynthiakmusic8
- LinkedIn: Cynthia Kinnunen
- Bluesky: @cynthiak8.bsky.social
PhD Candidate, OISE/University of Toronto
Joyce Jing Yee Yip (she/her) is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Psychology at the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Community Music at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has completed advanced studies in violin and piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has been invited to music festivals and competitions across Ontario as a Strings and Piano adjudicator. As a teacher-researcher, Joyce has worked with patients at the Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai Hospital, long-term care homes, and community strings orchestras in the Greater Toronto Area to better understand the relationship between music and health. She was the past journal editor of Music Therapy Today, and has published with Activities, Adaptation & Aging, Music Therapy Perspectives, Barcelona Publishers, Oxford University Press, Springer Books, Intellect Books, and the Canadian Music Education Journal.
Student Members
MA Student, Laurier Faculty of Music
Treasa Levasseur (she/they) is a settler on Dish With One Spoon territory, an an Irish citizen. A JUNO nominated singer songwriter and in demand sideperson, Levasseur holds a BFA in Theatre, has a lively community arts education practise, and is the recipient of Folk Music Ontario's inaugural Estelle Klein Community Builder Award. She is a nascent academic, an avid reader, and an enthusiastic performer. Treasa is currently co-creating her first full length musical.
PhD Student, Laurier Faculty of Music
Alex Purcell is a musician, researcher, and educator based in Toronto. He holds an MA in Music from York University and is pursuing a PhD in Community Music at Laurier. His work explores the intersection of music, autism, and emerging technologies, with a focus on VR-based participatory musicking. As both an autistic researcher and performer, Alex emphasizes inclusive, co-created approaches that highlight music’s role in fostering belonging, self-expression, and wellbeing. He also performs in ensembles ranging from jazz fusion to Jewish wedding music.
PhD Student, Laurier Faculty of Music
Born in Edmonton, Ian Whitman was introduced to the bass at age 17 and studied jazz and classical music at Grant MacEwan College, McGill University, and Yale University before assuming the position of Principal Bass for the (former) Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in 2008 and joining the faculty at Wilfrid Laurier in 2012. He is active in the Canadian music scene and has performed with ensembles including the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Penderecki String Quartet, and is a frequent soloist in Southern Ontario. Ian lives in Kitchener with his wife, violinist Allene Chomyn and two young children. Despite spending most of his time playing orchestral music, he’s delighted to be able to pursue his love for jazz as member of the Patti Payne trio. Beginning in September 2025, Ian took on the role of Learning and Community Engagement manager with the KW Symphony and started his PhD in Community Music at WLU.
Contact Us
E: lcmc@wlu.ca