This dissertation investigates the musical identity of Inuk soprano, Deantha Edmunds. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has issued Calls to Action for Indigenous language and culture, which extend to music institutions. Western art music academies hold a hegemonic power over the telling of Canadian music history and performance practice, effectively gatekeeping music at the highest academic level. Consequently, Edmunds’ music has been periodically met with confusion. Therefore, this study focuses on Edmunds’ hybrid musical identity, demonstrating the significance and resistance of her compositions and performances. As an embedded case study, this dissertation centres on Edmunds’ performance career, studying how her performances question early music performance practice and challenge Western art music listeners. This qualitative methodology illustrates that Edmunds enacts Calls to Action through her compositions and performances, a claim which is triangulated by personal interviews with Edmunds conducted by the author, literature reviews of the history and music of the Moravian Inuit, Indigenous sound studies, identity politics, and the music aesthetics of Truth and Reconciliation. Edmunds consistently uses her talent and position to uplift Inuit music traditions, and this research amplifies Edmund’s aspirations for Truth and Reconciliation through music.
Key findings reveal that Edmunds’ compositions and performances reclaim and redefine the colonial construct of music performance. Her compositions, such as her album Connections (2022) and her song-cycle Angmalukisaa 2024, braid Indigenous aesthetics into Western art music, reaffirming historically discounted Inuit voices. For authentic Inuit translations, Edmunds turns to Inuit Elders for guidance, deepening her connection to her community and furthering her efforts for language revitalization. Her music and storytelling are rooted in Indigenous history, promoting Truth and Reconciliation.
This research was made possible by Edmunds’ generous engagement with non-Indigenous listeners. This dissertation argues that Edmund’s music effectively reorients the definition of performance in Western art music. Leveraging her positionality, Edmunds creates a pathway to resilience for future Indigenous generations, especially her daughter Annabelle, whom she includes in her performances. In this way, Edmunds creates a living legacy that incites further research on listening positionality, performance theories, music scholarship, and Indigenous studies.D.M.A
