Colin McGuire

Colin’s area of interest is the music of the martial arts and his PhD research focuses on the drumming performed by some traditional Chinese kung fu clubs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). His approach is interdisciplinary and draws from ethnomusicology, hoplology, phenomenology, semiotics and diaspora studies. Of particular importance to this area are the processes of transmission, identity formation, creation of space, claiming of place and construction of meaning. The ritualistic, sometimes even secretive, nature of the gong and drum rhythms used to accompany lion dancing and martial arts demonstrations precludes extensive musical transcription. Instead, Colin has chosen to focus on the rich experiences of learning, performing, and beholding the blurred genre of kung fu percussion in the context of a multigenerational, multicultural and transnational environment.