Creativity, Community, & Culture
The Arts in Human Experience
The thread that holds my diverse career together is that everything I do comes back to the arts as an integral part of the experience of being human. Be that teaching small children music, violin, fiddle etc., performing for community groups or on stage, conducting scholarly research, or coaching creativity. All of it links to how we as people relate to ourselves and each other. Through the arts we can better understand other people and create a more peaceful and harmonious world.
Expertise
Research and Outreach
Dr. Osborne has over 20 years experience in qualitative ethnographic research. She believes strongly in mobilizing research for general public access. This has resulted in working on various projects from CDs, websites, and books.
Suzuki Violin and ECE Teacher
Starting at age 3 Evelyn was determined to play the violin, at 5 she started Suzuki violin lessons which set her on a life long journey of exploration not only of violin skills, but community music making, teacher training, and networking with colleagues internationally. She has training in both Suzuki violin up to book 8, Suzuki early childhood, a long term teaching practicum, and various other pedagogical courses with the Suzuki Association of the Americas and Asia Regional Suzuki Association.
Fiddler
Starting fiddle music at age 7 (after starting classical violin at age 5), folk music and dance has always been a passion of Evelyn’s. She pursued her Masters and PhD in research based on the fiddle music of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Osborne has performed and taught Newfoundland fiddle and dance music on four continents.
UNIQUE HK PROGRAMS!
Creative Ability Development and Music Together
CAD believes that Every Child is Creative and we can nurture that creativity by creating a space and supportive space with lots of fun games. The first rule of CAD is that there are NO WRONG NOTES!!! only artistic choices. This gives kids the space to experiment and make different artist choices. It is great fun and the ONLY program in Hong Kong!
Osborne is also trained in Music Together and will launch Hong Kong’s only active MT program in September 2021. Music Together is a world music program for babies and young children up to the age of 4.
Experiences
Owner/Founder of the Fiddlehead Folklore Institute & Founder of of the Musical Village Method
2021- ongoing
Fiddlehead Folklore Institute is a cultural education company based in Hong Kong but with global reach. Locally, it’s mission is to enhance cultural understanding by facilitating arts/music education in expressive culture both for children and adults. Globally, FFI reaches out to tradition bearers worldwide to connect with their cultural traditions. FFI has mandate of connecting community and research. Dr. Osborne is also available for guest lectures and research projects.
The Musical Village Method of music education is a holistic, family, and community minded music education approach developed by Dr. Osborne which marries the best of classical music education with folk music and the human experience of multi-cultural arts.
Launching in 2021.
Institute Director at Atlantic Canada Suzuki Institute & Artistic Director at Suzuki Talent Education Program
2010 – 2015; 2006-2009
As director of these two non-profits community music organizations, Osborne diversified the programming and increased enrollment to meet the community needs.
Mentor in The Women’s Foundation Mentorship Program for Women Leaders (Hong Kong) 2020-2021
Mentored a promising early career woman in leadership in Hong Kong. Participated in the leadership curriculum and worked with others on group and peer mentoring.
TWF’s mentorship program is a “best in class” prestigious program that accepts only 50 mentors and 50 proteges each year.
Founding Executive Director at Hong Kong Suzuki Music Institute
2015 – 2020
Dr. Osborne moved to Hong Kong to build this successful Suzuki school. A wonderful community of dedicated families, HKSMI grew to 90-100 families and 5 professional teachers.
Research Associate at the Media, Music, and Place Research Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
2004-2013
As a PhD research associate at MMaP, Osborne worked on various folklore and ethnomusicology research projects, particularly those which mobilized archival research for community access such as folk song books, websites, and CDs.
Let’s make something together.
Evelyn Osborne, PhD 