معرفی
Karen Cyrus is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Music, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Director of the Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa. She is a scholar-activist dedicated to Afrodiasporic music practices, social justice in education, and collaborative research.
- PhD in Music (Ethnomusicology), York University
- MA in Music and MA in Applied Linguistics
- LRSM in Piano Teaching, Royal Schools of Music
- Bachelor of Arts, University of the West Indies, Mona
Her research focuses on Afrodiasporic gospel repertoires, pan-African children's music, and community-based projects. She developed the 5000+ entry Mapping Ontario's Black Archive database and co-founded the Toronto-based band T-Mento to preserve Jamaican Mento music traditions.
Scientific awards include a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). She has provided music education training through workshops for the Toronto Mass Choir's PowerUp Workshop (2012-2024) and the York Region District School Board.
Key collaborations include her role as Helen Carswell Research Associate (2017-2021) at York University, where she built partnerships between community music organizations and researchers to support racialized youth in Toronto's Jane and Finch area.
