The presentation yesterday went pretty well. It was a small but engaged crowd, with many familiar faces and some great new colleagues. As always, putting ideas out there was a great way to strike up conversations with others, and learning about other people’s work. Experiencing a gathering of people from all corners of the globe has been both enlightening and humbling. I am especially excited about some of the new canadian colleagues I have met. I am forever indebted to Prof. Beverley Diamond (co-chair of local arrangements with Prof. Kati Szego and the inspirations behind Memorial University’s Research Centre for Music, Media and Place) for recommending that I submit a proposal when we met last year at BFE 2010. It’s funny how unplanned connections draw you down a path you never dreamed of walking down. I won’t promise anything, but I will do my best to write up some of my thoughts and some of the most interesting sessions that I have sat in.

I have to note once again that this was an extremely well organized conference. Maybe Newfoundlanders are just used to organizing music-related gatherings of this size, but what a team and what a city to be Canadian hosts to the world. Heck, they made me feel so welcomed, I want to come back and explore the rest of the province!

I am going to take the “excursion day” tomorrow to soak in more of the wonderful people at this place, and do my own job as Canadian host by showing people around. And if I am lucky, I will get to see the sun rise over Cape Spear before I leave, like I wanted to when I was here almost ten years ago exactly.

May there be a clear sky on Sunday morning.