Now moving into its third season, Sounds Like Us is an inclusive and cocreative on-campus experience for young adults with neurological, developmental, and physical disabilities. Conceived in 2023 in partnership with the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) and Community Living Guelph Wellington’s Campus Friends (CF), this program serves university-aged students over a ten-week semester. The ninety-minute Sound Session Workshops (SSWs) include a range of activities involving sound exploration, musical play, Sonic Score Visualizations (SSVs), movement and dance, and a final showcase for families, friends, and community members featuring original improvisations and compositions created by all CF students. Utilizing everyday hand-held technologies along with acoustic, digital, and adaptive sound and music making instruments (e.g. AUMI, KOALA, and Ableton), participants sampled, recorded, and produced original sound pieces which received their world premiere on 2 April 2025 in front of a live audience at ImprovLab in Guelph,  ON Canada. 

1| soundbreakers: are a series of body percussion and hand instrument sound-based games where players are asked to share a sound with the group. Any sound is up for grabs! Names, places, pets, etc. Sounds are turned into rhythmic and melodic riffs that are used to generate short pieces of music. This soundbreaker features the Rhythm of the Name Game (R.O.N.). 

2| feeling it: On the first day of our Sounds Like Us 2.0 sessions, everyone was asked to write how they felt on a Post-it note. These stickies were placed on the floor in the middle of the circle and each person took turns sharing how they felt via sound and music using a variety of musical instruments and sound makers. 

3| elements + solos, duets, and trios: based on original Sonic Score Visualizations (SSV) by Campus Friends students. 

4|  elements: is an extended improvisational composition exploring the creative and imaginative sounds of earth, water, air, and fire. 

5| Bonus Tracks: In February 2025, Dr. Rob Wallace (former IICSI postdoctoral fellow) invited  jashen as a guest lecturer at Northern  Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, AZ USA. Rob's students enrolled in his " Performance in Practice- Improvisation, Music, Performance Art, and Beyond" course did three readings  of Campus Friends' Sonic Score Visualization "Water." 

SLU student collective:
Matia Balfour
Samantha Balsamo
Talia Baskin-Kesselman
Shayne Beaver
Cameron D’Amico
Belle De Franco
Mackenzie de Jonge
Davina Finoro
Alex Flores
Nora O’Regan
Marla Pagliaroli
Katy Pickfield
Kshirin Rajwanshi
Nicolo Spadafora

Campus Friends program is directed by Karen Calzonetti. Sounds Like Us is designed and facilitated by jashen edwards, Valentina Morelli, and Joe Sorbara, under the leadership of Ajay Heble and the IICSI research team. 

Special thanks to:
ImprovLab tech team:    Emma Bortolon-Vettor, Colin Harrington, and Brent Rowan
IICSI personnel team:    Julia Busatto, Eric Fillion, Chris Worden, and Jordan Zalis
Playbill design:               sofia boz      
 
Audio recording, editing, splicing, mixing, producing, and post-production is done by jashen edwards using a Zoom H3-VR 4-capsule Ambisonic mic and Audacity. 


Access Showcase Program via the following link:  https://www.canva.com/design/DAGjCpnmMPY/w8njwQ105pOSBtaXFaykgA/edit?utm_content=DAGjCpnmMPY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

2H. Mackenzie

soniclifeworlds