Song to the Whales/Chant de la baleine is an international multidisciplinary project that is part education, part awareness, part performance, presented by Oktoécho, in collaboration with the Australian collective Corrina Bonshek & Collaborators. The large scale project brings together Inuit, Māori, and Aboriginal artists, along with non-Indigenous artists from Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
The artists are united by a common theme: protection of the ocean, and whales in particular. It’s a celebration of whales even as it’s a call to act before it’s too late.
Traditional Māori, Aboriginal, and Inuit songs form the basis of the work that explores the symbolic power of whales, as well as the current reality, where there is an overwhelming need for action to protect and preserve marine ecosystems around the world.
Australian Corrina Bonshek and Canadian Katia Makdissi-Warren share directing and composing credits. The work incorporates the talents of multiple artists, including:
- Māori vocalist Whaia Sonic Weaver
- Aboriginal singer, storyteller, and activist Uncle Bunna Lawrie
- Inuit throat singers and Oktoécho’s artistic co-directors Nina Segalowitz & Lydia Etok
- Musicians: Greta Kelly, Étienne Lafrance, Bertil Schulrabe Michael Askill and Jason Lee Scott
Indigenous peoples of the world have a close connection with the ocean and its inhabitants. The goal of the project is to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous traditions together via artistic exchanges, while immersing the audience in performances that blend music, storytelling, and natural sounds.
The artists will be in Montreal and Toronto, and later to the US and Australia for workshops, concerts, panel discussions, and more. It’s a blend of art and science designed to connect with the senses on multiple levels while inspiring a momentum to act on the issue.
Canadian musical collective Oktoécho blends Indigenous Canadian and other world music traditions in their work. Eco-responsible practices were incorporated into every level of creating the project, including green logistics.
We spoke to composer Corrina Bonshek and storyteller Bunnie Lawrie about the project.
Corinna Bonshek
Australian composer Dr Corrina Bonshek is the 2022 Queensland Music Award winner in the Classical Contemporary category for my string orchestra work Dreams of the Earth. Her music expresses the interconnected nature of self, culture, and tradition. She believes that cultural exchanges are essential to building global harmony and community. Corrina earned a PhD in in Contemporary Arts from Western Sydney University.
She has become known for her large ensemble works, often immersive and site specific. Corrina formed Corrina Bonshek & Collaborators in 2021 in order to create musical projects to tour internationally. Her music has been performed at festivals and recorded by artists across Australia, as well as in Europe and Asia.
Putting Song to the Whales/Chant de la baleine together meant working long distance between the Australian and Canadian artists and collaborators.
“We all met in person only four days ago,” says Bonshek.
Creating the multidisciplinary project has meant putting various traditions and styles together musically. “Together we write new arrangements,” she says of working with Canadian composer Katia Makdissi-Warren. Sometimes those traditions differ considerably. “We really wanted to let that come to the fore.”
Inuit throat singers and Oktoécho’s artistic co-directors Nina Segalowitz and Lydia Etok have added their contributions to the music. “They have very different and distinct cultural traditions.”
The musicians in the touring ensemble come from different backgrounds as well, including jazz, classical, tabla, and Persian traditions. “It’s really a mix of styles.”
She credits the open mindedness of musicians and their willingness to come together to create the right sound. “It’s a group project,” she says. “It’s a true collaboration. We genuinely like each other’s music.”
As she points out, the music comes to the fore in concerts, but serves as a backdrop for demonstrations and workshops during the tour. “We’ll be talking about whale songs and other cultural elements.” Activities include a fireside story night in Niagara Falls.
Offering a range of activities, including songs and stories with workshops and talks, allows the message to come from many different angles.
“We feel like we’re able to go deeper. I think it just adds many different entry points.” Her hope is that people with engage with multiple aspects of the project on tour.
“I hope that people come back.”
Bunna Lawrie
Whaledreamer, songman, storyteller — Bunna Lawrie represents the Mirning Aboriginal tribe. He tells the stories of his country, and the struggle to protect both land and ocean along the Great Southern Reef. Bunna was born and raised along the Nullarbor at the head of the Great Australian Bight, and has come to be a Mirning senior elder and medicine man.
He was also recognized throughout Australia as the front man for the rock band Coloured Stone in the 1980s and 1990s, singing about Aboriginal values and issues.
“I teach people about whales, and sing to the music. Singing to the whale,” Lawrie says simply.
He found out about Song to the Whales/Chant de la baleine via a fellow artist a couple of years ago. “I said, well, let me know. We could put a group together and do some whale shows.”
He spreads the word about the topic, based on the knowledge shared within the Mirning and their elders. “They were guardians of the whales and the sea,” he says. “We have rights to the country to go fishing and hunting and look after the land.”
It’s led to his involvement in the project, even though he wasn’t sure where it would lead at first. “Next thing I know, they said, We’re going to go to America.”
The message is one he’s been spreading for years. “It’s educating people about how we should be looking at whales,” he says. “People don’t really know about whales,” he adds. “Whales are like the policemen of the sea. They protect the other animals.” It’s something scientists have observed over the last 75 or so, but which the Aboriginal people have understood for many generations. “Our people knew about it a long time ago.”
It goes along with Lawrie’s other work. “I’m also an activist.” He works with Greenpeace, as well as other Aboriginal and Maori organizations to protect the coast and ocean. Lawrie mentions the black waters that drain from rivers and other streams into the sea. “There it is all that rubbish that they’re trying to get rid of in the sea.”
Song to the Ocean – Call to the Whales by Corrina Bonshek & Collaborators with Whaia Maori Sonic Weaver, Greta Kelly, Michael Askill, and whalesong recorded by The Oceania Project:
Music with a Message
Reaching out to younger generations with music connects in a way that simply reciting facts can’t match.
“You must teach them as much as you can,” Lawrie says, “teach them now when you can. It’s all in the song. Planet earth needs our love and care. The sea and the ocean give us everything. We must give something back by doing the right thing,” he adds.
“We are the children of the earth. It’s as simple as that. Pretty soon, all of this is going to be gone. If the sea dies, the whale dies, we go too.”
Song to the Whales/Chant de la baleine: Ontario Events
There will be a variety of ways to connect with the project during their Canadian dates.
Concerts
- Song to the Waters with Michele-Elise Burnett, Oktoécho, and Corrina Bonshek & Collaborators, artists and Elders from Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa (New Zealand): August 15 and 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at Queenston Heights Park, Niagara-on-the-Lake. More info here.
- In the Garden of the Deep Blue Sea (Bunna Lawrie with Corrina Bonshek & Collaborators): August 28, 2025 as part of Harbourfront Toronto’s Summer Music in the Garden. More info here.
- As part of the Exit Points series at Toronto’s Array Music, Australians Corrina Bonshek, Greta Kelly, Michael Askill, and Whaia Sonic Weaver join locals Elaine Lau, Shaunt Raffi, Stone He, Scott McGregor Moore, Connor Bennett, and Diane Roblin in performance on August 29. Info here.
Workshops, Panels, and More
- August 12 to 16, 2025: Water stewardship panels, open drumming circle, and art-making workshops at Niagara Falls. More info here.
Later in the fall, the tour proceeds to New York City, and eventually Australia.
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